Philadelphia Union head coach John Hackworth insists Designated Player Kleberson is not quite ready to play a full 90 minutes.
The former Manchester United midfielder has appeared twice for the Union since joining on loan from Bahia and although he has standout credentials, including being a part of the Brazil 2002 World Cup winning squad, Hackworth says he must be patient before he really adapts to life in MLS.
"Kleberson is a guy that continues to get acclimated here and we're trying to get him to a point where we feel he can play more minutes," Hackworth said.
"But we're not going to force that. He's a good player. But he has not played a full 90 minutes in an awful long time. So we have to prepare to do that. We don't want to put him in a situation where he's not ready."
He added: "I think he's now in a position where he is ready to take another step forward.
"But without giving too much away here, we should realize that he's a player that, with all the experience he has, needs to be fully prepared to play a full 90 minutes. And this league is much different than anything he's experienced previously in his career."
