COMMERCE CITY — Ask Rapids forward Conor Casey about setbacks caused by national team duty, suspension and injury since he was named the MLS player of the month in May, and he shrugs it all off as no big deal. Stuff happens.
But those infernal horns that spectators blew during the Conferations Cup in South Africa in June, that gets him going.
“It was terrible, just a drone,” Casey said this week. “There was no atmosphere. Team scores, and you can’t even hear the celebration because all you hear is r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r.”
If that incessant whine was annoying for television viewers, imagine what it was like being subjected to it while sitting on the U.S. national team bench, which is what Casey did most of the time. In five Cup games, he came off the bench in four, playing a total of 61 minutes.
That trip consumed all of June, and Casey wasn’t match fit when he returned. The South High School product was playing himself back into match fitness when he picked up a yellow card his third game back and was suspended the next game, because it was his fifth caution of the season.
He played in the MLS All-Star Game and assisted on a goal but tweaked his left hamstring, which kept him out of last week’s home loss to Columbus. He hopes to play today versus Chivas USA at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Friday, Casey was added to the roster for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier at Mexico.
“We are not getting the best out of Conor,” Rapids coach Gary Smith said. “He is not able to give his best for us.”
Having lost two others to national team duty in recent weeks for the Gold Cup — midfielder Colin Clark (U.S.) and forward Omar Cummings (Jamaica) — the Rapids have lost four of their last six games. They’ve also lost some of the continuity in their attack.
“Our form has been erratic with the loss of three extremely influential players,” Smith said. “Very difficult.”
Casey and Cummings worked extremely well with each other the first two months of the season, but their rapport has suffered because of the interruptions.
“It’s a break in momentum for both of us, him going, I’m going, we’re coming back,” said Cummings, always dangerous on the wing. “It’s good when you have a proven goal scorer (Casey) on top. You put balls in certain positions, even if it’s a difficult ball, he makes it look good. It’s always good to have Conor up top, and we’d love to see him back.”
Casey doesn’t seem too concerned.
“Obviously, I’d like it to be different,” Casey said. “But at the same time, we’ve still got a lot of games left, for the most part I’ve been healthy, and you go through these little ups and downs in seasons. I still feel confident and good about our team, good about myself. Little rough patch right now, but it happens during a season. I think it’s just a little stutter.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
U.S. team roster
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan.
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Chad Marshall, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector.
Midfielders: Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, Jose Francisco Torres.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Brian Ching, Charlie Davies, Landon Donovan.
