Orlando City’s Pato near return despite not playing in Cincinnati

Striker Alexandre Pato made the bench in Cincinnati for the first time since the season opener when he showed promise as a starter before suffering a knee injury that derailed his first year in MLS.

Orlando City’s Pato was sidelined for several months following knee surgery, then suffered a series of unrelated knocks — about which the club has not disclosed details — before finally returning to full-contact training last week.

Coach Oscar Pareja said the main goal in bringing Pato on the trip was to reintegrate the striker with the first team. Injured players typically spend most of their rehabilitation process detached from the rest of the team, working one-on-one with sports performance specialist Silas Waszczuk inside the team facility while other players train outside on the pitch.

Although Pato has returned to those training sessions, he’s missed out on months of intangible team growth — bus and plane rides plus morning rondo sessions during warmups.

Pato has maintained close relationships with his teammates. He plays Call of Duty with Antonio Carlos and Júnior Urso and attends a Portuguese church and Bible study sessions with his fellow Brazilians on the roster. But a key to Pato’s return to the team will be folding him back into the locker-room dynamic as a whole.

Pareja said the striker’s fitness has been improved. He hopes to return the striker to the pitch before the end of the season.

“It’s a tricky situation because Pato has been out that many months, but the season is about to end,” Pareja said. “It’s important that he trains. It’s important that he demonstrates that he is fit to compete with a full intensity again. ... But that aspect of integration with the team is important.”

Pareja emphasizes flexibility amid quick turnaround

After midnight on the flight home from Cincinnati, Pareja hunched over a laptop in the back of the plane, studying newly compiled film of Montreal to prepare for the Lions’ next games.

These late-night cross-country film sessions have become a necessity for Pareja amid packed weeks of matches.

The Lions are in the middle of one of their most cramped stretches of the season — five matches in 15 days that will decide the trajectory of the team’s postseason.

Although he often goes without sleep until he returns to his home in Orlando, Pareja said it’s hard to sleep after the excitement of a big win like the Lions clinched against Cincinnati on Saturday. Those extra hours help the coaching staff get ahead of the next training session.

“Today the players want to know what the game plan is,” Pareja said. “You want to be precise on that but then there is not too much time to rest. The players and coaches now are in that mode of preparation and we want to be proactive. It’s our responsibility.”

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Julia Poe at jpoe@orlandosentinel.com.