Charlie Davies has suffered both minor and major injuries throughout his career. These moments of adversity have trained Davies to listen to his body, which is why he knew he had to exit early from Saturday’s game against D.C. United.
After starting the match as a lone striker, Davies went to the ground in the 33rd minute, looking for help from the sideline. The New Hampshire native was eventually removed with a left hamstring injury, which Davies called a "mild strain."
The injury came when Davies pushed to chase down a Diego Fagundez long ball. The striker tried to work through the discomfort, even performing an acrobatic bicycle kick, but ultimately knew he wouldn’t be able to continue.
"The veteran came out of me and made me come off," Davies said. "I felt like, when I did it, I’ll give it one more chance to get a scoring opportunity. It came. Didn’t happen for me, but I took myself off."
The decision could turn out to be a smart one as Davies was able to leave the field on his own accord. With 32 games left to play, Davies knows it’s important to think long term over short term.
"I feel that I still have strength in my hamstring," Davies noted. "I’m able to walk without pain, there's all positive signs and I know I’ll be back on the field sooner rather than later."
Davies will now be under the watchful eye of the New England Revolution coaching staff. The Revs have a full week of training ahead of them before they travel to face the Philadelphia Union in a Sunday afternoon affair. It’s a trip that Davies hopes to make.
"Obviously, I’m still in good spirits because I know it’s something that will heal quick," Davies noted. "We have two big games coming up, Philly and New York, both Eastern Conference teams. We’ll see if I’ll be able to go later on next week. If not I know I’ll be fine for New York."
If Davies isn’t ready to go, head coach Jay Heaps could turn to Teal Bunbury or Juan Agudelo. Agudelo replaced Davies on Saturday but lined up on the flank while Bunbury assumed the striker position. Agudelo would move up top in the 74th minute when Bunbury made way for Kelyn Rowe.
While neither Bunbury nor Agudelo got on the scoresheet this weekend, Heaps has confidence in both players. The gaffer believes that each of his forwards, including Davies, brings something different to the team, which is something that he likes to see.
"Teal is really fast so it really opens the field up," Heaps explained. "Teal got behind them a lot more than Charlie did, but Charlie also has a little different runs that he make, he gets himself open for crosses and different things. Juan is a little bit more of a physical player and battles a little bit."