As those reminders further settle in, Herrera is expected to keep building. The Mexican star missed the first two months of Houston’s 2024 season due to injury. And while the former Atlético Madrid and FC Porto standout has more levels to reach, relationships with those like Amine Bassi, Coco Carrasquilla and Artur are taking flight.
“It’s been a fun process to watch the rust come off, and it doesn’t take much for his rust to get off,” Olsen said of Herrera. “He’s just such a high-quality player. The game is so easy for him and to watch him each game get more confidence in his knee and the physicality of it all, that was really what we were worried about or really concerned with more than, ‘Oh, can he trap and pass and make the final ball?’ This stuff is just such second nature to him.
“Our sports science has been very thoughtful and cautious in a good way about making sure that he keeps moving forward. … It’s really just about making sure that we’re doing what we can off the field for him to recover and then giving him the right prescription of minutes and playing him into fitness.
“Also, the way we can play with him on the field and without him, it’s a very different team and it wasn’t so much him out of rhythm. It was others out of rhythm on the field playing with him and remembering how quickly he sees things or being in different spots for him. He makes us braver on the ball and he’s such a nice, nice piece there in the middle of the park that connects a lot of pieces.”
