Brian McBride, who underwent surgery on his shoulder in July, is back in full contact training with the Chicago Fire. The striker could see action as soon as this Saturday against Real Salt Lake. “He’s in full go,” Fire coach Denis Hamlett said Wednesday. “He’s looking good. We are still being cautious, and working on his fitness and getting his soccer sharpness back.”
McBride required surgery to clean out minor damage in his right shoulder, an injury that had been building for months and with which McBride played through the first four months of the MLS season. Hamlett said McBride’s availability is dependent on how he gets through training this week. Despite missing eight games this season, McBride still leads the team in goals scored with six. “It’s huge having him back,” Hamlett said. “Any time you get a player back from our original group, who we didn’t expect until later this month, it is good.”
To Hamlett, it was no surprise that McBride returned from injury sooner than expected. “If anybody can come back from this, it’s Brian,” Hamlett said. “He’s a warrior, a guy you knew would fight to get back on the field.”