It’s been a long road to recovery for RJ Allen, who battled with a back injury through preseason and into the first month of the regular season.
But the New York City FC fullback made his first appearance of the season Saturday, coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes of a 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium.
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It was Allen’s first time on the field for NYCFC since Oct. 25 against New England. Allen made 13 starts with the Club in 2015.
“It was good. Obviously I was out for quite a long time,” Allen said. “It’s great to be back in the team the past two matches, and I’m looking forward to the next couple of games coming up.”
Allen, who had a pair of assists last season, worked hard to come back from an injury he described as “difficult” in a Facebook post in late February.
Allen also took to Twitter to thank the traveling support Saturday afternoon.
Excited about returning to the pitch, Allen is looking forward to a busy week ahead with home games against the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps in quick succession.
“We are just going to put our head down and work,” Allen said. “Obviously we are going through a rough time right now but we are going to continue to work and are going to dig ourselves out of this hole and turn this thing around.”
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