A reaggravation of a knee injury has returned American goalkeeper Tyrel Lacey empty handed from a trial in Poland with Premier League team Polonia Warsaw.
Following the July 1st bankruptcy of his former Norwegian 1. Division Club FC Lyn, Lacey hit the road on a quest for a country and team he would next call home.
He did so only after completing, what he believed to be, a full rehabilitation of his right knee which underwent surgery this past offseason.
"[I] went to see if [Polonia Warsaw] would be a good fit for me in my recovery and the next step in my career," Lacey told YA. "I trained with them once on Friday and my knee did not respond as well as we would have liked during training."
Lacey's road to recovery has been longer than expected as it was back in October of 2009 when he suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Post surgery he was set for a start in the April 2010 FC Lyn season opener, but following the game he was again sidelined. Friday with Polonia Warsaw was Lacey's first full-speed training since the April 2010 start.
"It was one of my first training sessions back at a high intensity preseason pace and [I] discovered we will need to build the knee up a bit more slowly than that," the Oklahoma native reported. "The knee reacted with some fluid and swelling during that session so both doctors there and here in Oslo would like to monitor [it] a bit more closely."
After training Friday, Lacey hopped on a late plane back to Norway to have his knee further examined by doctors in Oslo.
Even after the short trial and knee complications he indicated the coaching staff at Polonia Warsaw expressed a continued interest.
"The coach wanted me to get everything fixed up and let them know as soon as I did," said Lacey.
A conflicting report from the Polonia Warsaw team website entitled, "Tested Goalkeeper Did Not Meet Expectations," quoted team representative Igor Gołaszewskiego saying, "The American goalkeeper has not fulfilled the expectations placed upon him."
While it seems the opportunity in Poland has likely passed, Lacey continues the lengthy rehabilitation process with great diligence which he is sure will prove fruitful.
"I left Poland so I could get an MRI and further assessment on the knee, so I can step onto a team at 100% [and make] the greatest impact for them–whomever that team may be–which I know I am capable of [doing]," he concluded. |
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