Harrison Afful returns to Columbus Crew training after surgery

Ghana defender Harrison Afful returned to training with his MLS club Columbus Crew on Monday after recovering from a nerve injury in his hand.

The injury prevented Afful from travelling to face Chicago Fire on Saturday in a game they lost 1-0 but was sighted with a heavily strapped hand left hand during Monday's workout.

Afful, who trained away from his teammates late last week, sliced a nerve in his hand while at home last week, according to Crew coach Greg Berhalter.

“He sliced his nerve. He needed to get operated on (last week),” Berhalter said of Afful. “He completely severed his nerve.”

Asked if Afful will be available for Saturday’s game against Toronto FC, Berhalter said, “They should be, yeah.”

Afful's compatriot Jonathan Mensah (hamstring strain) has missed the last two weeks after suffering an injury late in the Crew’s win over Portland on March 25. He had a private training session during Monday's team drills.