Ned Grabavoy found himself the odd-man out of Real Salt Lake's starting lineup on Saturday night.
A fairly consistent mainstay in the starting XI this season, Ned Grabavoy ended up taking a seat on the bench as RSL welcomed Kyle Beckerman back into the midfield after a two-month recovery from injury.
Not one to be bitter, Grabavoy waited patiently for an opportunity to get on the pitch, one that came in replacing Beckerman in the 63rd minute.
"It's difficult, but he's such an important player and the leader of this team, and he's a guy that realistically -- he needs to be out there in his position, and he's been doing that for probably over 10 years in this league," Grabavoy said. "He's been one of my more favored players in the league to watch and to take things from. I'm happy that he came back (and) not only came back, but in his mind, looked good and confident."
With 13 regular season matches to go, along with a number of additional fixtures due to CONCACEF Champions League play, there will be plenty of opportunities for Grabavoy to get back out on the field.
"It just comes down to whatever's needed," Grabavoy said. "We have a lot of guys get injured or pick up knocks along the way, and it could be a situation where I need to play deep sometimes, it could be a situation where I'm playing high where Javi is if he needs a break, or more-or-less on the side of that diamond."
Grabavoy made the most of his 27 minutes on the pitch Saturday night, hitting a spectacular blast from the top of the arch into the left corner after just four minutes in RSL's 1-1 tie with Chivas USA at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night.
Beckerman felt pretty good with his return and hopes to quickly regain his fitness level as the season goes forward.
"I felt good," Beckerman said. "Our goal was to get to about 60 minutes, so in that respect it was positive for me, outside of us not winning. Nobody really knew how long it was going to take (to return to the field), so we felt like we made the right decision in not getting surgery.
"The foot felt pretty solid after the match, and I think my fitness will come back; it's tough to be out for two months and then try to go 90 minutes."
Beckerman was as one of four Real Salt Lake players selected for the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday at Reliant Stadium in Dallas, but will be skipping that match to continue working on his fitness and training levels.
RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando will likely get the starting nod in Wednesday's match, with First XI goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts of the L.A. Galaxy being in action on Champions League action on Tuesday night at The Home Depot Center.
Central defender Jamison Olave and midfielder Javiar Morales were both named to the First XI and are fairly likely to earn starting nods against Manchester United.
Real returns to action against MLS cellar dweller D.C. United on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
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