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FC Dallas hopes to build on the encouraging return from injury of one of its longest-tenured players on Saturday when it hosts a Houston Dynamo side seeking its first away win of the season in the battle at Frisco, Texas.

Dallas midfielder Paxton Pomykal came on for the final nine-plus minutes of a 1-1 draw against 10-man Real Salt Lake last weekend. It was his first action in 434 days following an extended recovery from surgery to repair knee cartilage.

“It was pretty surreal. You dream about the time you’re going to step back out on the field after being out that long,” Pomykal told the club’s radio team this week. “I wish I could have savored the moment a little more. Just because 400-plus days is a crazy amount of time. And then within five seconds, you’re on the field and you have to dial it back in.”

Striker Petar Musa also came on late for 18 minutes in his first action in four weeks. But despite seeing RSL reduced to 10 men only four minutes following Anderson Julio’s equalizer, Dallas (4-4-4, 16 points) couldn’t find a winner.

The result leaves manager Eric Quill’s group with only one win in its last six MLS matches (1-2-3) entering a rematch of their season-opening 2-1 win in Houston.

The Dynamo (3-6-4, 13 points) are searching for their first back-to-back victories following a 2-0 home win over Minnesota United on Wednesday night.

“We were unlucky to not get on the scoresheet earlier, but we kept plugging away, putting balls into the box and earning corner kicks,” said Houston head coach Ben Olsen. “Defensively, we were very sound, and it was nice to score another one later in the second half. Overall, it was just a really good performance from the group.”

Defenders Pablo Ortiz and Felipe Andrade scored their first MLS goals in their first starts for Houston during a game in which both teams fielded heavily rotated lineups.

The Dynamo have made other additions since their previous loss to Dallas, most notably Slovakian international midfielder Ondrej Lingr. He has scored twice in his first five league appearances.

American international Duane Holmes is also thought to be nearing his debut. He suffered a broken leg weeks before his transfer from Preston North End.

–Field Level Media