As Crew practice wrapped up Thursday, Crew coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter and midfielder Federico Higuain sat on bleachers a field away, talking for close to half an hour before exiting the training pitch.

What followed was an admission by Higuain to The Dispatch's Michael Arace that the 2017 season represents "the finish of the cycle," or the end of Higuain's tenure in Columbus after six seasons. Presented with those comments, Berhalter described the situation to two Dispatch reporters as "hopefully" something Crew SC can work out with Higuain "sooner rather than later."

Here are the transcripts of the news of the day, starting with Berhalter's discussion of the chat with Higuain:

Q: Was Pipa back to full training (Thursday)?

Berhalter: No, limited still.

Q: Does it just continue to be a pain management thing with him?

Berhalter: Yes.

Q: It looked like you guys had a pretty lengthy talk. Is there frustration that happens with that naturally?

Berhalter: No, I think it’s just catching up. He’s been out for a little while and (I was) able to talk to him, see what the next couple weeks are looking like.

(A few questions later)

Q: Will Pipa be ready and how integral is he to any post-season aspirations?

Berhalter: I think he’ll be important. He’s a game-changer. Anytime you can have a game-changer on the field, it’s gonna help. I’m positive he’s gonna be ready. I’m optimistic he’s gonna be ready.

Q: It probably suits him better to play (in a four-defender system), but he could play in any style or formation, no?

Berhalter: He could play in any formation. When we played three in the back, he scored two goals in two games and is very effective. So I have no doubt that no matter what formation we play he can be effective.

Q: He’s been absent since he hurt his knee. How is he and do you have any expectations about when he can return?

Berhalter: He’s day-to-day and he’s making progress and I don’t know. I don’t know.

Here’s the transcript of a conversation a few minutes later between Higuain and Dispatch columnist Michael Arace:

Q: How’s your knee?

Higuain: I’m getting better. I think it was a strange type of injury. It was an accident between two teammates, almost a week ago, a very weird play. I took the worst part. But I am happy because I am getting better day by day. I can do something now. I’m trying to be back as soon as possible.

Q: Were you worried at any point, and are you over that worry?

Higuain: Yeah, yeah. The first week, almost two weeks, I felt worried about it because we couldn’t find a way to get better. Now, we are close. It’s just strange.

Q: Chicago, maybe?

Higuain: I hope, I wish. It’s a big game. A good game. This team likes to play that type of game.

Q: Do you start to think about how much you have left?

Higuain: I don’t know. I really like to be able to play, to train. The worst part for me when I got the injury was I can’t do something with my body. I need to do something. It’s good for my life. Now, I’m happy. I’m starting to run, like for three or four days. I’m not worried about my fitness because it’s easy for me. The problem is with the ball because it’s painful when I touch the ball.

Q: Do you care what formation the team plays?

Higuain: I’m a player. This is a question for the coach. I’m a player. I’m not the coach.

Q: You had a long talk with the coach. Did you set him straight?

Higuain: We were talking about . . . other things. About my future, you know? I think it’s not clear. I don’t know what will happen. You know, I’m a guy who likes to be here. I’m a guy who did everything for this club because I like the city, because I like the Crew, I like the supporters. But things are going in other directions, so . . . Probably I will be not part of this team next season. It’s a tough decision by me, but . . . In 2016 I had this type of conversation. I felt bad because I think I did very well for this team in 2012, 2013, '14 and '15. And in 2016 I got the only injury in my whole career and I felt the team brought a lot of doubt about what they would do with me. I came back this season to show to everybody that I was still a good player for this team, for this club, for this league. I don’t know what will happen, but I think it’s the finish of the cycle, you know? I’m sure the Columbus Crew will not lose too much without me – but maybe another team in or out of the United States will win something.

Q: You happy with this decision?

Higuain: I don’t have too many choices.

Q: And you say this is your decision?

Higuain: Yes. It’s mine. It’s mine because what I gave to this team, for me, was good. And what . . . I don’t know. It’s tough.

Here’s the transcript of a later conversation Berhalter had with two Dispatch reporters after being presented with Higuain’s quotes:

Berhalter: I think all the future stuff will hopefully come down the line (in working out a deal with Higuain).

Q: Has he expressed that to you, that (he’s considering this season his last with the Crew)?

Berhalter: I don’t think this is abnormal. Any player in his age profile always is concerned about their future. I think that’s perfectly normal. We wanted to discuss it and it’s something we will discuss and I think hopefully we’ll be able to solve it sooner rather than later but it’s something where right now we’re focused on the transfer window and winning games.

Q: Do you see it as something that’s still reconcilable?

Berhalter: Absolutely. He’s always been a big part of this team.

Q: You gonna do something before the ninth (of August, the end of the secondary transfer window)?

Berhalter: We’ll see.

aerickson@dispatch.com

@AEricksonCD