Sounders’ Zakuani ‘ecstatic" about return to the field

RENTON — Steve Zakuani was back on a field, practicing with his Sounders FC teammates Friday. It was a day that was equal parts ecstasy and frustration for the speedy left wing who continues the long road back from the broken leg that sidelined him for most of last season.

Seattle held its first preseason training session Friday, a little less than two months before its season opener, and of the roughly 30 players on the field, it’s hard to imagine that any appreciated the cold, hour-long practice more than Zakuani. After a promising first two seasons in Major League Soccer, Zakuani, the top pick in the 2009 MLS draft, seemed poised for a breakout 2011 season. He scored twice and added two assists in Seattle’s first six games, and was quickly becoming known as one of the league’s most dangerous attacking players.

Then, on April 22, Zakuani suffered a fractured right fibula and tibia, the result of a tackle by Colorado’s Brian Mullan that earned Mullan a 10-game suspension. Surgery was needed to repair the injury, and Zakuani suffered a further setback when he developed compartment syndrome, a potentially limb- and in some cases even life-threatening compression of nerves, blood vessels and muscles in the leg. That meant another surgery and an even longer recovery, which included the need to regain sensation in his right foot. So despite going through all of Friday’s practice, Zakuani remains a long way from where he knows he needs to be.

“In the big picture, I’m over the moon,” he said. “… I definitely am happy, don’t get me wrong. I’m ecstatic, but I want to get back and play, so I’m looking at it as, what do I need to do now to get myself back in a position to play in an actual game? (That) is way off from where I am now, so that’s the frustrating part.”

For Zakuani, the darkest days are behind him. Shortly after the injury, he had a difficult time watching his team’s games. He says he is now “in a good place” but some days are still worse than others, and he still can’t bring himself to watch highlights of his play before the injury. That would only remind Zakuani of how far he still has to go, something he gets enough reminders of on the field.

“I still have the picture in my head of how I played before,” he said. “So I get the ball and maybe try to do something that came so naturally before, and right now I’m not able to do it because my mobility isn’t there 100 percent, the strength in my legs isn’t there 100 percent. Those things are natural, that’s going to be frustrating. There are going to be more bad days than good days in terms of my performance just because I’m trying to get back to that consistent base. But just being out there was great, just knowing I can do that.”

At the end of last season, Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid sat Zakuani down and delivered a message about what to expect.

“Just be prepared for a lot of frustrating days,” Zakuani recalled his coach saying. “He said, ‘Your mind is going to remember what you were able to do. You’re going to try to do that but your body won’t be caught up yet.”

Zakuani experienced as much Friday. At times his touch was off, or his speed wasn’t quite what he wanted. Still, he made it through an entire practice, and even scored the final goal of the session. Both Zakuani and Schmid said the plan will be to alternate days of on-field training with low-impact conditioning. Neither would put a timetable on Zakauni’s return to game action, though the coach did describe Zakuani as being 65 or 70 percent. But even if game action is still a ways away, and even if his limitations are frustrating, Friday was a big step forward in his long journey back.

“Hey, I’ve been out for nine months, so to be out there passing with the guys, making runs for them, scoring a goal,” he said, “I’ll take that right now.”

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.