Crew midfielder Federico Higuain turned 33 last week.

He certainly hasn’t played like it.

Major League Soccer on Tuesday announced finalists for 12 end-of-year awards, and Higuain was named one of three finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.

The Argentine midfielder returned from a midseason knee injury in top form, delivering nine assists in the final seven games of the regular season to finish with a career-high 14 in 26 games. He also contributed nine goals.

Higuain’s career-high assist numbers come after a 2016 season in which he appeared in just 20 games and started just 18 as he dealt with the effects of a sports hernia surgery. He has admitted that he wasn’t quite himself last season as a result of the surgery and provided just four goals and three assists in 1,607 minutes, his lowest minutes total in any season since joining the Crew midway through the 2012 season.

Seattle’s Clint Dempsey, who appeared in 29 games this season after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in 2016, and Houston’s Erick Torres, who has scored 14 goals this season after going two seasons without scoring, join Higuain as finalists. The award recipient will be announced Nov. 15.

Atlanta’s Miguel Almiron, Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco, Chicago’s Nemanja Nikolic, Portland’s Diego Valeri and New York City FC’s David Villa were announced as the five finalists for Most Valuable Player .

Two awards — Goal of the Year and Save of the Year — will be voted on by the public. Crew goalkeeper Zack Steffen’s save of a Villa half-volley on Oct. 22 is one of 16 finalists for Save of the Year.

Crew SC kicks off against NYCFC in the first leg of the two-leg Eastern Conference semifinals Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Mapfre Stadium.

aerickson@dispatch.com

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