Patrick Brennan

pbrennan@enquirer.com

There was much excitement around FC Cincinnati's winter signing of Major League Soccer veteran Omar Cummings, but the player has been seldom seen or heard from since.

Cummings brought with him to FC Cincinnati nearly 190 MLS appearances and nearly 50 goals worth of experience, in addition to his time with the Jamaican senior men's national team.

But Cummings hasn't appeared in a competitive game since a March 18 friendly against the Xavier University men's soccer team. Then, his quiet preseason with few appearances and even fewer chances on goal gave way to a regular season in which he hasn't played once.

Finally, there's been some marginal progress, but it's still going to be a while before Cummings makes his USL debut for the club, head coach John Harkes told The Enquirer after FC Cincinnati's Thursday training session.

"Omar Cummings is, gosh, he's probably, in terms of game fitness and sharpness, not there," Harkes said. "He's had a lot of little injuries here that's kept him out. He's joined in at training and then back out again. This is really the first full week that we've been able to get him on the field. We're hoping he continues to stay healthy."

The 33-year-old Cummings, a former MLS Cup champion with Colorado Rapids, certainly didn't look rusty during Thursday's practice.

During full-field scrimmaging, Cummings cracked a wide smile after he volleyed in a goal from about the top of the 18-yard box.

On-lookers cheered loudly for the goal, prompting the grin from Cummings.

Cummings continued to open into full sprints for the duration of the scrimmage, showing no visible signs of injury.

There is no timetable for Cummings' regular season debut, Harkes said.

Cummings, a Cincinnati State and University of Cincinnati men's soccer program product, made 35 appearances for the Jamaican national team through 2012, according to MLSSoccer.com. He scored seven international goals.

From 2007-2014, Cummings scored 49 total goals for the Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo (MLS), and won numerous individual awards during that span. He spent the 2015 season at San Antonio Scorpions of the North American Soccer League. There, Cummings appeared in 29 games and scored 10 goals.

FC Cincinnati returns to play Sunday at 4 p.m.at Toronto FC II.