Days before the most consequential match of his Major League Soccer career, Jimmy Nielsen remained unsure he would play. Unsure he could play.
With the 2013 MLS Cup looming, the sting of two broken ribs had grown worse for Sporting Kansas City’s captain. Nielsen received a painkilling shot and supplemental medicine. A doctor advised him against playing through the injury.
He considered that.
“I tried a lot of different (solutions), but that’s some of the most pain I’ve ever been through,” he said.
The rest of the story is well-publicized. Sporting KC defeated Real Salt Lake in a record-setting 10 rounds of penalty kicks.