With injuries aplenty, Sacramento Republic hopes returning players spark offense

It isn’t exactly Homer’s “Odyssey,” but if you ask Sacramento Republic’s Maalique Foster about his injury problems over the last year, it’s going to take a couple of minutes to hear him out.

Foster went about 13 months between games as he battled to get back to full speed. He returned to the field Aug. 14 for 10 minutes of action in the Quails’ home game against Las Vegas.

While his fight to get back on that field was against a physical problem — he had surgery this spring to repair a torn groin muscle — Foster said his mental fight was the most difficult part of his long absence.

“The frustration part is when I’m not at training and I’m at home, sitting in my bed or lying down, that’s where the frustration was,” he said. “But once I’m back here at training, everything in my head was spinning. It was a struggle to get back on the pitch.”

Foster had plenty of company on the sidelines. Soccer teams are always dealing with injuries, but Republic had several high-profile problems to deal with this year. Goalkeeper Rafael Diaz was slated to be the starter before the season, but a leg injury and kept him on the bench for most of spring, then he had to earn back a spot in the lineup.

Tucker Bone, the team’s leading scorer, is out for the rest of the season with a leg injury. Cam Iwasa, the leading scorer in team history, missed most of the early season with a pulled hamstring that took a while to heal.

The list goes on. Midfielder Jaime Villarreal missed more than a month of play with a leg injury. He said he spent time with the “hobbled crew” of Foster and Diaz, keeping each others’ spirits up as they worked to stay mentally focused and get physically better.

“For me, it was tough because obviously we weren’t doing well at the time,” Villarreal said. “Just to be out and seeing the team was struggling and not able to do anything for them was really tough. Just to be out in training day to day was mentally tough. I sometimes questioned, ‘Am I part of the team, am I not?’”

With all three of the hobbled crew back on the field, Villarreal’s eyes bulge when he talks about what Foster brings to the attack. He signed with Sacramento in December and practiced with the team for a couple of weeks in training camp. It was enough to make an impression.

“He brings a lot of energy. He’s just a spark,” Villarreal said. “He’s a different player than what we have right now. He brings quickness and a lot of pace and skill. I saw him play for two weeks before he got injured, and it was like ‘Wow, this guy is gonna be really good.’

“ … If you give it to him on a 1-on-1, I’m putting my money on Maalique.”

Foster’s combination of blazing speed and quickness could add an interesting dynamic to an offense that hasn’t been particularly interesting.

Sacramento’s 20 goals are second-worst in the Pacific Division. But with Iwasa back in the starting lineup and Foster out on the wing, things could get interesting against San Diego at Heart Health Park on Saturday night.

Whether he scores or not, Foster says he’s just happy to be back on the field. Even if it’s just a few minutes at the end of games as he reacclimates to competitive soccer.

“(My first game) was overwhelming,” he said. “I was out for so long, it’s the first time I’ve been out for so long. The best feeling was when coach called my name on the sideline. That was the best.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.