Jermaine Jones will travel with the Revolution to Chicago

In what can only be viewed as good news for New England Revolution fans, Jermaine Jones is set to travel to Chicago this weekend.

Jones, who underwent surgery in early June to repair a bilateral sports hernia, returned to practice this week. On Thursday, he spoke to media for the first time in six weeks, speaking optimistically about his road to recovery.

"I will travel with the team to Chicago and we’ll go from there," Jones told RevolutionSoccer.net. "The last days I tried to do a little bit with the ball, tried to make some runs. Today I’ll start to play some positions. We’ll go from there."

The Revs will obviously be cautious about reintroducing Jones into the starting XI since the 33-year-old midfielder has already missed 13 games, including five to start the season.

When he is ready to play, there's no question that he'll make a difference. Last year, Jones featured in the final 10 games of the regular season, posting an impressive 8-1-1 record. With 12 games left on the docket, the Designated Player hopes to have the same impact this year.

"The same that I did last season," Jones said about what he hopes to bring to the team. "To show them that I’m here to make the difference and help everybody on the field get better, and when they make mistakes, to help them come in a better way that we don’t lose games, or it’s tough to beat us."

After missing out on much of the 2015 MLS season and a chance the play at the Gold Cup, Jones is itching to get back on the field. In fact, he's already got his sights set on an important prize.

"I'm ready to go," Jones commented. "I want to help the team and the club to go back to the MLS Cup final."