Following a 3-game suspension, Emery Welshman is ready for more FC Cincinnati minutes

Charlie Hatch | chatch@enquirer.com

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Before his three-game suspension, Emery Welshman played every United Soccer League match for Futbol Club Cincinnati this season. Whether he started or subbed in, his pace and movement was a nuisance for opposing defenders.

But then came a jarring, unexpected suspension.

Suddenly, Welshman finds himself competing for playing time with one forward who scores almost 50 percent of the time (Danni König) and another who will be FC Cincinnati's starting striker in Major League Soccer next season.

"It does feel like a lot has happened," Welshman said Thursday after practice. "We signed a few new players, it's all part of the sport. These kinds of things happen. I'm ready for it, I'm ready to be back Saturday."

The first match he started for Cincinnati was against Charleston. Now he's hoping to return to the squad and get another positive result against a Battery side entering Nippert Stadium third in the USL Eastern Conference standings. Cincinnati sits first.

The match marks a month since the forward last played a competitive game. Then, he pushed Kay Voser to the turf after repeatedly being fouled late in Cincinnati's 2-0 win over Charlotte Independence. He was booked after the incident. Afterward, he received a three-game ban for violent conduct.

The club couldn't appeal the decision. Instead, Welshman had to wait.

"To be honest, I think he was very, very hard done by," FC Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch said Thursday. "I've seen other things the last few weeks across this league that have been way, way worse and get through unscathed. ...Having said that, we just get on with our jobs and have to deal with it.

"He's a professional and he's gone through it. He's obviously champing at the bit to get himself out there again."

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The international friendly against RCD Espanyol last month was intended to be an opportunity for Welshman to play 90 minutes for match fitness, but he tweaked a groin muscle and played 61 minutes. Welshman said he's fully fit now.

He practiced throughout the suspension, but without competitive minutes, he balanced extra work after practice on top of usual team training sessions.

"Doing extra reps after training is a good way to keep sharp," he said. "You don't want to do too much cause that's how you get little injuries. Doing your little exercises before and after training, even in the night, helps me keep my fitness and sharpness."

The forward, who's also played for the Guyana national team, said it's crucial to not overdo anything, especially for someone with a pair of previous hip surgeries.

"You always want to do more," he said. "With my history, though, I don’t like doing strenuous things, especially close to game days. So I want to keep in the same routine I would have had if I was playing the games."

When FC Cincinnati signed Welshman in January, Koch said the striker has the ability to play in MLS. Now that the team has less than two months remaining in its final USL regular season before joining the first division, the remaining matches serve as opportunities not only to play more, but potentially join the club in the future.

Through 20 league games, he's scored twice and has three assists. He scored a hat-trick against Detroit City FC in the U.S. Open Cup.

"He’s a guy we have a lot of confidence in," Koch said. "He’s done very, very well for us this season."