This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Nat Borchers' fitness is improving, but the Real Salt Lake center back says it's too soon to set a firm timeline for his return.

Borchers discovered he had torn a quad muscle in January and immediately underwent surgery to repair the damage. He has done some technical training with the team — dribbling and passing exercises — but hasn't joined the team for full training yet.

"Every week is different," he said of his recovery. "I've really been moving forward the last few weeks, and then at the end of last week things got sore."

He added, "I'm close but I still have to be mindful that it's a long season and I don't want to re-injure myself."

Here are some of Borchers' other comments following Wednesday's training:

On the progress of the team's young players:

"It's great just to watch these guys play and to see the progression, especially along the back line. It seems like guys are being more vocal and stepping up and gaining a better understanding of our system. I think the more guys that understand our system ... it's just going to benefit us in the long haul."

On his role as a mentor for those players:

"I try to talk to them whenever I see something that I would do differently. I actually just like to ask them questions and see if they're thinking about game situation things. They're smart kids."

— Aaron Falk