Josef Martinez making ‘very good progress’ in return to fitness

Defenders throughout Major League Soccer will likely be on excessive alert as Josef Martinez edges nearer to his return for Atlanta United.

Despite struggling with accidents over the previous couple of years, the Venezuelan stays one of the crucial feared strikers in MLS because of a file of 104 objectives in 137 video games for the Five Stripes throughout all competitions.

Martinez underwent surgical procedure to take away particles from his proper knee – the identical one which suffered an ACL tear again in early 2020 – on April 8 and has been sidelined since. But the 29-year-old returned to coaching earlier this week and, in accordance with head coach Gonzalo Pineda, is making ‘quite a lot of progress’ on his highway to restoration.

“He’s doing excellent, excellent,” head coach Gonzalo Pineda mentioned in the course of the week. “He’s reintegrating to the coaching classes in a partial manner and he is doing stuff on the facet after that. But extra getting ready him on the health facet. He’s making quite a lot of progress, so we’re very pleased with that.”

An precise timeline for Martinez’s return hasn’t been set, however the striker’s standing for this weekend’s match towards Nashville SC has been upgraded to ‘questionable’. Pineda’s purpose is to attempt to have the striker prepared for full coaching classes subsequent week.