KC Current feel healthier as Challenge Cup resumes. Is it enough to salvage the season?

Lo LaBonta sat down in front of a computer for a Wednesday Zoom call with media for the first time in a long time. Usually a fixture at news conferences, LaBonta has been out of action for more than a month due to injury.

“For me, I think I’m in full 90,” LaBonta said with a laugh, “you know, starting.”

She continued: “I’m ready. It’s just up to the head coach now.”

For much of this year, the injury conversation has been a demoralizing one for fans of the KC Current (5-10-0). But with LaBonta as one of the few players left to return from injury, the Current are starting to get healthy for their final stretch.

Two longer-term injured players, Hanna Glas and Claire Lavogez, are edging closer to full involvement again. Vanessa DiBernardo picked up a concussion against the Portland Thorns and is still experiencing symptoms that will keep her out this week.

And that’s pretty much it for injuries, other than the three players on the season-ending injury list: Mallory Weber, Sam Mewis and Lavogez.

Alex Loera returned in the club’s last match. While Desiree Scott didn’t make the Canadian World Cup roster, she’ll return to the club next week.

Hailie Mace was in full training this week after she missed the last two matches with a shoulder injury. She’ll miss this match against Houston due to suspension because of yellow card accumulation, but she’s also back in the fold.

The Current even received good news regarding Cece Kizer, who looked like she picked up a nasty injury in the team’s most recent match in Louisville. But scans came back clean, and she bounced back well enough to be in full training all week long.

Now, with the next three Challenge Cup games on the horizon, the Current can focus on integrating everyone back to the team. And in doing so, they hope they can finally put the puzzle pieces together in 2023.

“I think we’ve had some really good performances, and a couple of results probably should’ve gone the other way for us,” said Current forward Kristen Hamilton.

That might be the most puzzling thing about this team, even with all the injuries.

In some of their games, the Current have looked dominant and proved they can take it to plenty of the teams higher up in the standings. Even so, several of those games didn’t finish with a win.

“Other teams have after the game actually said that to us, and they’re like, ‘We were lucky to get away with the win against you guys,’” Hamilton continued. “We’ve been told over and over again how good we are and can be when we’re firing on all cylinders.”

Now it’s about putting it all together and gaining consistency with the match results. The Challenge Cup provides the opportunity to continue working on that without further harming their place in the league standings.

With half of their Challenge Cup group stage games finished, the Current (2-1-0) are second in the Central Division with six points. At the moment, that’s good enough to put them through to the knockouts as the best second-place team.

They’ll play the Houston Dash for the fourth and final time in all competitions on Saturday night. The match at Children’s Mercy Park kicks off at 7 p.m.