Injuries still an issue for Terps after Townsend's return

For more than four weeks, Terrapin men's soccer forward Casey Townsend and midfielder Doug Rodkey were linked together by their helplessness.

A sprained ankle for Townsend and a broken metatarsal for Rodkey had left both starters sidelined and frustrated as they could do little else but watch as the No. 6 Terps drop almost half of the games in which neither saw any action . Still, at least each had a partner in misery for the time being.

So when Townsend made his long-anticipated return to the field Saturday night in the team's scoreless draw against Virginia , he wasn't surprised to hear a little grumbling from his still-injured teammate. It probably won't change much after the team's match tonight against Navy.

"He gives me a hard time," said Townsend, laughing. "He tells me it must be nice to be able to play again."

Coach Sasho Cirovski said Rodkey would be visiting a doctor yesterday night for an update on his recovery. Cirovski hopes Rodkey will be able to remove his foot brace in the coming week and be ready to go for the ACC Tournament, which begins next Tuesday.

"The confidence of all the players goes up when those guys are on the field, and they've proven over time what they can do," Cirovski said. "We're all hoping we can get them on the field."

It's easy to see why. Townsend first injured his left ankle against N.C. State in mid-September, but the duo didn't become a staple on the bench until a week later, when Rodkey broke the metatarsal bone in his right foot against North Carolina.

Townsend briefly appeared in a win against Virginia Tech on Oct. 9, but prior to Saturday, the two had missed all other games since the 1-0 win over the Tar Heels. During that stretch, the team went 4-3. In those three losses, the Terps didn't score.

"It's been an up-and-down year with all our injuries," Townsend said. "We just need to get everyone that can be healthy, healthy."

But there is a new name on the dreaded injury list: forward Jason Herrick. The high-scoring striker left the field wincing in pain early in the second half Saturday with an apparent hip injury and did not practice yesterday.

After almost a month of waiting, Townsend and Herrick played just shy of 47 minutes together against the Cavaliers.

"We're hoping that we can at some point get them on the same field," Cirovski said. "We've had some other guys step up at times, but that's a lot of quality missing."

Neither may be needed tonight against Navy. Cirovski noted the Midshipmen notched consecutive victories over solid teams in Loyola (Md.) and Lehigh earlier this month , but they've been outscored 7-0 in their four most recent games.

A conference scheduling quirk left the Terps as the only team in the ACC without a league game this week, but a dose of weaker competition may be just what the doctor ordered.

"You're out of control of your destiny, but we'll just try and take care of the teams we're playing," Cirovski said.

shaffer@umdbk.com