Steve Zakuani was in a buoyant mood after sitting on the bench in Seattle Sounders' 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy on the weekend.
The 25-year old winger has been sidelined since April 20 with a groin injury, which required surgery, but is closing in on yet another return to the Sounders line-up after a torrid run with injuries in the past few years.
"I've been training pretty good for a while, so I kind of expected to be making my way toward the game-day squad," he said after Sounders training on Tuesday.
"Obviously it has been a while - I haven't played since April - so that was a good part of it. Now the next step is obviously to start getting my match fitness on the pitch. So it was good."
The former Arsenal youth was now planning to work his way into Sigi Schmid's line-up, no matter what the role, ahead of the 2013 MLS playoffs.
"It's hard to come back after a few months and play 90 minutes right away, obviously," he added.
"If I have to be just on the 18 and not play, then that's what it's going to be, like it was on the weekend. If it's coming on at the end of the game, that's fine.
"If it's starting a game, that's fine too. Obviously the season has slipped by, most of it, but it is the key part of the year now, and it's a good time to get healthy.
"That's down to Sigi and the coaches in the role they envision for me. I can only be doing what I do. I can only train how I train and leave the rest up to them. I can't really control the role I play."
