After a nightmarish trip home from Washington, D.C., on Sunday night, Real Salt Lake returned to training Tuesday.
“We’re good,” coach Mike Petke said. “It was a good session today. Got home real late. I think I got home at 5 [a.m.] to my house. But day off yesterday, they rested, and we’re starting preparation today for Montreal.”
RSL team administrator Tim Weaver originally booked the team for a 5 p.m. flight Sunday so they could fly direct to Salt Lake City, he said. That turned out to be a blessing when Real Salt Lake’s Saturday match at D.C. United was postponed 28 minutes in due to weather. The game, which RSL won 1-0, resumed the next evening.
Thanks to RSL’s original schedule, Weaver didn’t have to drastically adjust the team’s arrangements, aside from adding a meal and finding a new flight. But that flight ended up being the cherry on top of a soggy and exhausting weekend.
MLS teams are allowed charter flights for up to four legs of travel in a season, but when teams have to change plans for reasons out of their control—like weather—the league can provide a charter that doesn’t count against the team’s allotted number.
RSL at Montreal<br>Saturday, 5:30 p.m.<br>TV • KMYU
That’s what RSL relied on in this case, Weaver said, with no commercial options going from D.C. to Salt Lake. But D.C. wasn’t the only place with inclement weather.
“Apparently they had some issue in Miami with weather that then delayed them getting to D.C.,” Weaver said.
RSL finally boarded the charter plane around 12:30 a.m. ET and landed at the Salt Lake airport at about 3:30 a.m. MT, Weaver said.
“We have a good locker room setup,” Weaver said, “so the attitudes were good from the players.”
Phillips, Van Oekel progressing
Left back Demar Phillips ran in training Tuesday, which brought him one step closer to returning from a left hamstring contusion.
Phillips suffered the injury in RSL’s 4-1 win at Portland on July 19 and was carried off the field in the first half.
He has since progressed from walking to jogging to running. He still has a ways to go, and his return-to-play procedures may include a rehab match with the Monarchs.
“We have to look at how long he’s been out,” Petke said. “Based on how long he’s been out it’s mandatory that I need these guys to go get a game with the Monarchs for sure. So I think he’s, if not there, he’s approaching that time frame.”
RSL has used stints with its USL affiliate to help several players return from injury, including David Horst, who was out for over two months after knee surgery in April.
Backup goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel is likely scheduled to make an appearance with the Monarchs this weekend, Petke said.
Van Oekel has been sidelined by a high ankle sprain sustained in training last month.