This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • Javier Morales was confined to his bed a week ago, battling the accompanying effects of a stubborn virus that attacked his system.
The Real Salt Lake midfielder had just gotten through a six-week stretch of overcoming a rib fracture in the first game of the season on March 6 in Orlando, Fla., but then the virus symptoms leveled him.
"It wasn't good," he said. "I had to stay home, [didn't want to] get the guys sick."
The first two months of the season haven't been kind to the 36-year-old midfielder. Prior to RSL's second leg against Tigres UANL in the CONCACAF Champions League series on March 2, Morales was one of several RSL players to get hit with a flu bug that bounced around the locker room. Four days later, Orlando City's Darwin Ceren struck Morales in first-half stoppage time. That foul caused a rib contusion that, two weeks later, would turn into full a rib fracture in Portland following another foul on Morales by Timbers midfielder Diego Chara.
Morales recently phoned some friends back home in Argentina and the topic was brought up.
"I said, '2016 is not treating me good, you know?" the RSL midfielder said. "But it's OK if that happens in the beginning, and not in the end of the season when there's going to be the more important games — it happens."
RSL's age-defying playmaker has avoided these sort of string of injuries the last three years. In 79 league starts since 2013, Morales has 25 goals and 34 assists. One of Major League Soccer's most-fouled players, Morales has endured 505 career fouls in 214 regular-season games, 10th all-time in league history. Since 2010, only Portland's Darlington Nagbe has been on the receiving end of more fouls than Morales.
But Morales had never had to deal with the kind of complex injury that the broken rib presented, he said. The laundry list of injuries he's overcome — ankles, knees, shoulders—- were nothing like this. All the other injuries afforded him time to continuously work out other portions of his body as the affected area healed.
Not the rib.
"You can't breath, you can't lift … that was the toughest part," Morales said. "It took me two, almost three weeks doing nothing. Now it's tough to come back. Right now, it's feeling OK. It's not bugging me at all. I'm healthy."
RSL coach Jeff Cassar recognizes that when a crucial player misses a significant chunk of time, it boils down to honesty between the player and the staff for his availability.
"He's got to be honest in what he thinks he's capable of, and constantly trying to improve his fitness throughout this week, next week, the week after," Cassar said.
Hard to believe, but Morales feels lucky. RSL's bright start has relieved pressure to hurry back to the starting lineup. Morales said as much as he's endured in these first two months of the season, it's an ideal spot to be in now. Ahead of RSL's trip to Los Angeles to play the Galaxy Saturday, Morales said he's feeling "100 percent to play."
"You want to be there help, but now the team is winning, getting three points and playing good, so they're giving me time to be 100 percent to play my best," he said.
RSL has managed without Morales. The linchpin to the club's attack has started two games and appeared in roughly 30 percent of the season to date without a goal or assist.
"I just want him back," Cassar said. "It still helps the team if it can be 30 minutes for a little bit, that's a beautiful thing too. Then when he's 100 percent, of course we want him back — 100 percent."
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Morales' rough start
March 1 • Comes down with flu bug
March 6 • Rib contusion suffered at Orlando City
March 19 • Rib contusion turns into rib fracture at Portland
April 13 • Comes down with virus —
RSL at L.A. Galaxy
Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
TV • KMYU