Emanuel Reynoso is back in Minnesota, but when might he play for Loons?
Emanuel Reynoso finally returned to Minnesota last week, but a comeback to MLS play appears further off on the horizon — if it happens at all.
The Loons’ all-star midfielder was away from Minnesota United for seven weeks after he failed to go to his club-arranged U.S. green card appointment in Argentina in late March. He stayed in his native country for six more weeks through early May and returns without his green card.
Now, Reynoso has to go through “a clear plan outlined for him before any first-team reintegration,” a MNUFC spokesperson said to the Pioneer Press this weekend.
Reynoso watched from the stands Sunday as MNUFC2 played at the National Sports Center Stadium, but it was illustrative of how far apart he still remains from the club as a big group of Loons players, along with head coach Eric Ramsay and owner Bill McGuire, sat five sections away.
Reynoso, who battled a knee injury to start the season, has only played 31 minutes in one game this season, coming off the bench in a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC on March 16. He then left for Argentina when the Loons were idle the following week and didn’t come back.
It was considered an unexcused absence. The club and Reynoso were in communication during the hiatus, with Reynoso saying a few times he would be fly back sooner than what actually happened.
On April 9, the Loons’ new Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad issued a statement on the situation that included a key line: “Our entire focus is on the players and staff who are here.”
The Loons’ attention to the active roster is paying off. MNUFC is off to a great start — 20 points through 10 matches — and sits in first place in the Western Conference in points per match.
Reynoso, who also missed the opening week of practices in January, will now start a return-to-play protocol as if he’s reporting for the start of preseason training. There will be health metrics he needs to hit before moving on.
If that initial step goes according to plan, Reynoso could then train with the Loons’ developmental team, MNUFC2, for an undefined time period before any chance to rejoin the MLS side.
That prove-it approach would differ from what happened a year ago. When Reynoso missed the first 40% of the 2023 season for a different unexcused absence, he rejoined the first team in May and played in a MLS match under former manager Adrian Heath less than a month later, in early June.
The Loons’ new leadership will not take a similar fast-track approach this year. The Loons’ leaders have worked to establish a level of accountability from top to bottom, without preferential treatment of star players.
Loons players are also taking a different stance on Reynoso’s absence this season. Captain Michael Boxall told the Pioneer Press on April 16: “I think he’s made decisions that kind of shows everyone around here that he doesn’t care too much about the club.”
There’s also a growing possibility Reynoso has already played his last game for the Loons, with options being the club offloads the talented playmaker in the summer transfer window from July 18-Aug. 14. That could come in the form of a trade to another MLS team or a transfer out to another league, such as Mexico’s Liga MX or a spot in South America.
