Jalen Neal is at the end of the long road back.
Neal, who made his first team debut last season with the Galaxy, played 16 games and was selected to the U.S. men’s national team roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. However, his season was shortened after suffering an injury with the U.S. squad and after two games back with the Galaxy, he was sidelined for the remainder of the season.
First, it was a hernia surgery, late last season and before the start of this season, he underwent another surgery.
However, after recovery, return to training process and a pair of appearances with Ventura County FC in MLS NextPro action, Neal is prepared to rejoin the first team, possibly as soon as Saturday’s game against Austin FC.
“I feel great, 100 percent healthy,” Neal said Wednesday. “The first surgery was a sports hernia surgery and then I had an adductor strain on both sides of my adductor, that was in late January-early February.
“I was going to be healthy during preseason, but after the adductor strain, which happened right before preseason, that held me back up until this point.”
Neal played 25 minutes April 14 and then played 45 minutes April 20, both with the second team.
“It’s been extremely tough,” he said of watching the first team. “You feel isolated most of the time. You come out here and you see the group train and you’re the only one on the sideline. You go in the gym, you’re the only one there. … It’s a lot of isolation, but it only lasts for so long, you have to have that mindset.
“After the 45 minutes (April 20), I felt super fit, ready to keep going.”
The Galaxy are again short at center back this week. Eriq Zavaleta is out after receiving a red card in . Martin Caceres, who was subbed off early, has been dealing with a hamstring irritation.
“For us, he’s ready to start integrating into more matches and our (first team) environment,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said.
Neal’s imminent return should certainly help. The Galaxy have been victimized on set pieces, especially corner kicks this season. The 6-foot-3 Neal pairing with the 6-2 Maya Yoshida will give the Galaxy a taller central pairing that could help alleviate some of the concerns.
“I think we have the aggression in the air, I think it’s just about how we commit ourselves to the ball,” Neal said. “Especially we’re conceding a lot of near-post flicks, so it just comes down to right personnel, right spot, especially on those corners and set pieces, but I think we have the quality to stop that and I think it was just a short form of us conceding those goals.”
GALAXY at AUSTIN FC
When: Saturday, 10:45 a.m.
Where: Q2 Stadium; Austin, Texas
TV: Fox (Ch. 11), Apple TV+ (season pass)
