SAN JOSE, Calif. — There’s little question Steven Lenhart is ready for MLS action. The only decision for San Jose Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop is how hard he wants to push his team’s biggest offseason acquisition.
Lenhart, who came to San Jose in a draft-day trade with Columbus, missed the team’s first five matches because of March 3 surgery to repair a slight tear in the meniscus of his right knee, followed closely by the death of his father, Gary. He finally made his Quakes debut last weekend as an 80th-minute substitute against Chivas USA.
He still doesn’t know how many minutes he can contribute at this point.
“I’m just going to go as long as I can, if I get the nod,” Lenhart said. “I still have a ways to go, I feel. I was out for a while. But I’m feeling stronger, and each day I’m playing hard, trying to get that fitness back. It’s coming.”
After getting his first minutes, Lenhart then lined up with the reserves, who took on Chivas USA’s reserves immediately following the first-team match.
“He looked good, [but] he’s not really trained properly for five, six, seven, eight weeks,” Yallop said. “Looking at him, he’s fit, ready, raring. We’ll see.”
Although Lenhart may start Saturday against Philadelphia as part of Yallop’s threatened shakeup, it’s unlikely that he would be asked to go the full 90 minutes. Lenhart has only had a handful of practices since initially suffering the injury during the team’s February trip to London. After his brief stint in the feature match, he played 60 minutes in the Quakes’ reserve game before “running out of puff,” as Yallop put it.
“That’s the big thing I’ve got to decide,” Yallop explained. "Do you start a guy and bring him out [early], or do you bring on a fellow when everyone’s tired? Sometimes it’s easier for a player to start a match and go as long as he can.”
Although he made it clear he knows the choice is Yallop's, Lenhart’s preference would be to start. Most of all, though, he craves a chance to get back on the field in any capacity.
“He has got to be fair to other guys,” Lenhart said of his coach. “I’m eager to play. I’m just happy to be back running and being competitive.”
Geoff Lepper covers the Earthquakes for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at sanjosequakes@gmail.com. On Twitter: @sjquakes
