Matt Miazga had never had a serious injury before, he says. Some ankle things (small potatoes, in his opinion), things that kept him out for one month, maybe two, but by the end of the second month, he had been back in game action.
His knee injury, suffered after a goal-saving slide that had him slam his leg into the post, was described to him as similar to being in a head-to-head car crash. Specifically, the way his knee came back into his chest. A traumatic injury and not one he had any experience with, but one he's trying to embrace and grow from.
"I feel good, happy to be amongst the guys and around the club," Miazga said on Thursday at Mercy Health Training Center. Miazga spoke to the media for the first time since his injury on June 15 and said he is about nine weeks post-op and progressing well. "It's been good, time's flying. So I'm happy with the journey so far. It's my reality, and I'm enjoying every moment."
Miazga is back in the building, and the building is lighter for it. The 2023 Defender of the Year had initially been staying in New York while recovering from his surgery. Still, when cleared to travel back to Cincy, he returned to continue and eventually finish his rehab with the club. When Miazga arrived back Head Coach Pat Noonan said it started to “feel like our team is back,” and FC Cincinnati players and coaches have highlighted how perhaps the biggest adjustment that needed to be made midseason was the absence of Miazga’s (and Nick Hagglund, more on that later) leadership and adapting to life without the center back leaders.
So now, with both back in the building and involved in regular team meetings and functions, some of that veteran presence has returned. However, given the circumstances, he is trying to learn how to adapt his leadership skills to a new role.
"It's obviously harder. It hits harder when you go to the games and you're there in the locker room, but you're not getting dressed and getting ready," Miazga said. "I try to encourage the guys. Talk during the team meetings, give confidence and just be a vocal presence. But it's definitely different.
"It's harder for me to say things when I'm not on the field experiencing these things…But now as I'm older I feel like I have that merit and credit built up that I can say these things to certain guys and kind of help them. I think that's the biggest thing, just giving confidence and encouraging guys."
Miazga hopes to begin jogging again in about a month and is working mostly on strength at this point in his recovery.
As part of his rehab, when initially preparing for the long road ahead, Miazga said he researched the procedure, how some other players had undergone it and how they bounced back. Research, he says, provided him with all the belief he needed that he would come back at the same Defender of the Year caliber he was at.
"The plan is to come back stronger," Miazga said. "To be honest I didn't realize how many players had long term injuries like this in their career. So when I saw players I look up to or at a really high level and they've come back even stronger, I'm like, 'all right if they can do it, I can do it too.'"
"I feel good, I feel strong. The doctors have given me really good feedback. (They) gave me confidence about how it went and how my rehab is going. So I feel good, and it's all up here," Miazga adds, pointing to his head. "If I put my mind to it, I know I'll get back to the same level, if not better."
Having fellow defender Nick Hagglund alongside him in the rehab room has made part of the rehab easier. Obviously (and he made this very clear), Miazga was heartbroken for his teammate when he saw he, too, was injured. But having someone he describes as his "best friend" has made the process a little easier.
"I've been in a lot of locker rooms over my career, and he's probably a top three, if not the best teammate I've ever had, so, let alone friend, but teammate," Miazga said of Hagglund. "It's been great having that banter and atmosphere in the rehab room with him kind of makes it fun. Sometimes you're in there for long periods of time and you're stressed, it's boring, but having him, we can joke, we can have fun, we can enjoy so that's been good."
Noonan highlights Hadebe’s experience and character
FC Cincinnati's newest center back, Teenage Hadebe, will not join the club until after the international window is complete. Travel, visas, and other details would have held him up, but in the meantime, he will help the Zimbabwe national team try to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations over the next two weeks.
Pat Noonan said Thursday that the chase for Hadebe was not like some of the other roster additions. This was the first opportunity for the Head Coach to speak on his new player. Players like Chidozie Awaziem, he said, were ones they pursued or monitored for years. The newly acquired CB was, in this instance, an addition made of opportunity and fast-acting.
"Sometimes it just comes to fruition in a way where it wasn't expected three weeks ago, four weeks ago. But we're excited to add him to the group, I know he's excited to join us," Noonan said of Hadebe, who joins from Turkish league side Konyaspor but has vast experience in MLS with Houston Dynamo as recently as last season. "We were able to dig a little bit more because of our relationships with some of the guys over at Houston with his time there and look at some of those performances. As far as the character check, that's all positive signs which is certainly an important part of this. Then as a player with and without the ball, we thought there were things that could help us in this moment."
Hadabe, 28, was signed to Houston as a Designated Player and was a core part of the club's U.S. Open Cup-winning run in 2023. FC Cincinnati signed the player through the end of 2024, through 2025 and then with an option for 2026. So, while by the time he joins the club, there will only be seven regular season games left, the potential the Zimbabwe national provides, all while coming in on a free-agent deal, could be significant.
"This one wasn't as long of a process," Noonan added. "Sometimes you're able to make additions in a short amount of time because opportunities present themselves towards the end of a window or for various reasons. But like I said, it helped to be able to pick up the phone and talk to some well-respected people in Houston to understand what we could expect, and then maybe that helps you make a decision in a short amount of time…he was well respected in Houston. We're expecting a lot of the same with us.
He's going to join us after an international window, and there are seven games remaining. Then it's, 'How do you get him up to speed in such a short amount of time to help us make a strong push at it to end the season?' That'll be the challenge for him and for us. (But) I think the league experience and understanding what to expect is helpful for a player like himself."
USMNT at TQL Stadium
The Orange and Blue will host CF Montreal this weekend but then take a week-long break from MLS action as the FIFA International Window takes over global soccer. FC Cincinnati, though, in all of their generosity, will loan out their home grounds of TQL Stadium in that absence. The United States men’s National Team will host one of their friendly matches over the window.
While no members of FC Cincinnati were called into the camp this time around (a reprieve after Miles Robinson spent plenty of time with the United States this summer), the Americans will first host Canada in Kansas City before welcoming New Zealand to the Queen City for the second of two friendlies in the window.
New Zealand, currently ranked 94 in the world by FIFA, will begin World Cup qualifying in September, so this is the final tune-up for the Kiwis. As one of the top two teams in the Confederation (Australia recently moved from Oceania to Asia of their own accord), New Zealand has a bye for the current round of qualifying, making them available for this match. With the expanded World Cup in 2026, the pathway to the World Cup is now within reach for New Zealand more than ever, as Oceania will have a guaranteed spot in the tournament for the first time, making these tune-up matches more important than ever.
