Joseph Paintsil made his return from a hamstring injury with a second-half substitute appearance in last Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup second leg.
Saturday, he was back in the starting lineup and it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he made an immediate impact.
Paintsil had a goal and an assist as the Galaxy rallied from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with FC Dallas.
“It’s been a rough season for me, getting injured, for almost six weeks,” Paintsil said Saturday. “This is not something that any footballers want, but it’s also part of the game. Being on the score sheet today, it has really made me feel really good and it boosts my energy to also give me more confidence to go to the next game.”
Paintsil suffered the injury March 7 in Colorado, the third game of the season. He missed seven games, along with Champions Cup, before returning.
“The rehab process was really smooth,” Paintsil said. “I was feeling OK in the fourth week, but there was a little thing that was still annoying me, so I just gave it a little bit, one more week and a few days, because the most important thing is for me to be healthy and to have no pain so that I can come in and give what I need to give.
“With my rehab, it was a long rehab, but the physical trainers did really great giving me time to come back stronger with no pain, no reactions, nothing like that.”
With Paintsil’s return, the Galaxy are close to getting defender Jakob Glesnes (calf) back as well. Glesnes is on the trip, but Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said all signs are pointing toward Glesnes being available Saturday.
João Klauss suffered a foot injury Saturday and will miss Wednesday’s game. Vanney, as of Saturday’s game, wasn’t sure of any long-term recovery timeline for the forward.
“One of things I wanted to come out of this trip was (to stay) healthy and as we duel for points, was to try to come back healthy and give ourselves a chance to kind of really hit a reset button with everybody and put the team in a structure and a way that’s going to be best for us,” Vanney said. “Hopefully we can keep moving in that direction. Hopefully Joao’s injury is not serious and it (the recovery) is days and not weeks.
“With Joe back, the plan is to keep building him up to 90-minute fitness and as we get Jakob back, we start to look our best piece.”
The Galaxy have gained five points, with two draws and a win, in their last three road games. Four of their final seven games before the World Cup break are on the road.
GALAXY at COLUMBUS CREW
When: Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. PT
Where: ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Columbus, Ohio
How to watch: Apple TV (season pass)