After a prolonged injury struggle that began this summer, New York Red Bulls academy product and former MLS standout Tyler Adams made his return to the starting XI at RB Leipzig in a 3-1 home win over Augsburg on Saturday.

The victory took RBNY's sister club to the top of the Bundesliga table, at least for the moment.

Adams; 86-minute appearance was his first for club or country since he was ruled out of US men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter's camp in preparation for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup with a groin injury.

#WelcomeBackTyler!



After recovering from injury, @tyler_adams14 played 86 minutes to help RB Leipzig to a 3-1 victory vs. Augsburg today. 👏👏👏



📷: @dierotenbullen pic.twitter.com/kzjtGWOLw6 — U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) December 21, 2019

Complications from that injury and an additional foot injury prolonged his recovery much longer than first anticipated. Adams only returned to full training with Leipzig's first team earlier this month.

Saturday's victory took RB Leipzig two points in front of Borussia Mochengladbach and four ahead of Bayern Munich atop the German standings. Mochengladbach played away to Hertha Berlin later Saturday.

If Adams stays healthy, his return for the US probably wouldn't come until March when they will play a pair of friendlies in Europe. The program's traditional January camp is usually set aside primarily for MLS-based players who are in their offseason, though there have been occasional exceptions.