By Haley Simpson
If Wednesday night was any indication for Louisville City FC defender Oscar Jimenez, the worst is over.
Weeks of nursing a knee injury that sidelined the outside back ended when Jimenez — who remains the club’s all-time assists leader since signing in 2017 — entered as an 86th-minute substitute during LouCity’s 4-0 rout of Atlanta United 2.
“The road back is long,” Jimenez said postgame. “It seems like it’s never-ending. There’s a lot of hard work being put in off the scenes. I’m just happy to get out here and to get to run with these guys.”
Jimenez, who also missed time early in the 2021 campaign, suffered a related knee injury late into the 2022 preseason. That meant rehabbing rather than participating as the boys in purple ran out to 11 straight games unbeaten entering Wednesday night.
“Watching from the sidelines, from up above at Lynn Family, I had a lot of joy and fun watching the team play the way they were playing,” Jimenez said. “But also, it makes me hungry to get back out there because I love football. This is what I do.
“To not be out there to join in with these guys, it’s the hardest thing for me.”
A knee cartilage injury first ailed Jimenez this time last year. Following months of rehab, he returned to a starting role as LouCity ran to a seventh consecutive USL Championship Eastern Conference Final.
All continued to be well for the 32-year-old until the boys in purple played Phoenix Rising FC to a 2-2 draw earlier this preseason. Swelling appeared in Jimenez’s knee that took the better part of a week to subside.
“That was worrying, especially since that had never happened before,” Jimenez said. “We got an MRI and it turned out that I had a bit of fragments of my cartilage and bone floating around in there. So, if I was going to continue playing it would’ve kept ballooning up for me.”
Jimenez faced two options: to continue playing with a swollen knee or undergo an operation to fix the issue.
“We went along with the process, and it was a very tough choice because obviously I don’t want to miss anything,” the LouCity veteran said. “I think it was the best choice. I missed 10, 12 games but now I’m back with the team and training and I’m so much happier now than if I would’ve been training and having my knee swell up every three days.”
Jimenez’s return comes at a time when LouCity could use the added depth. The boys in purple will face a congested schedule in the coming weeks, starting with Tuesday’s Round of 32 U.S. Open Cup trip to Detroit City FC. From there, it’s straight to a May 13 league game at LA Galaxy II.
Jimenez will add to a core of outside backs in Amadou Dia and Manny Perez that have been standouts so far this year, combining on 32 clearances, 20 interceptions and 20 chances created.
“It’s a very deep squad,” Jimenez added. “But, if you want to win trophies, if you want to win everything, you kind of need a team like that. The fact that it’s a deep squad, there’s people battling for positions and making Danny (Cruz’s) choices very difficult, it’s what you want at this club.
“But, at the same time everyone gets along with everyone. And yeah, you’re battling for spots but you’re also encouraging your teammates because at the end of the day the goal is for Louisville City to lift a trophy, not just one person.”
