Orlando City 2, LA Galaxy 1
Q. Your first minutes back, how does it feel to be back on the field? Obviously not the result you wanted, but how did it feel hearing the crowd and getting your first minutes in 2025?
JOSEPH PAINTSIL: It feels really great, being out the whole of the preseason, and me having minutes now, I would just say a big thanks to God. And the people who are also making me work out and making sure I am always back as soon as possible, and as you can see, I feel really happy, and I really appreciate also, the crowd, they being happy that I'm back.
Yeah, we just keep going. Even though the result that we wanted -- it wasn't what we wanted but hope is not gone. We still have hope. We are the champions. And we will do everything possible to bounce back as we have season since last year.
Q. As you watched the team struggle through the start of the season, how hard was it not to get involved with that and what do you think needs to change around the organization to start getting the wins?
JOSEPH PAINTSIL: I would say the team is not playing bad. We are playing football but the results is what's not coming, and all that we need to do is all of us needs to make sure that whenever we are on the field, we are the champions. We should play like a champion, especially playing in our home pitch. The crowd deserve what they deserve. You can see the home crowds are dropping out and not coming to the game. But I can rest assured you that with time, everything is going to be peaceful and successful for us.
Yeah, we matching them from behind since I was injured, I wouldn't say they are playing bad. It's just the result that wasn't coming. As you can see, football is always like that. You can start bad and then end up winning the championship again, and people needs to know we have a whole lot of games.
Yeah, people will be thinking we need to win the points and points and points, but once again, we also need to they have, also, playing one game after the other. Even though we don't have the points, we keep going, and I still assure that you with everything that we have working with the coaches and the staff, we are doing everything to be in the top as a champion that we were last year.
Q. Do you remember exactly when you got hurt? Was it early on in training camp before Coachella?
JOSEPH PAINTSIL: It was a training here with a friendly game. That's where I got hurt.
Q. When did you start picking up your rehab to get to this point?
JOSEPH PAINTSIL: Yeah, so when that happened, I felt good within a couple of days. I was told not to shoot. But as a player, sometimes it just happens or you try to shoot and I felt the quad, that's what needed really long for the healing.
Yeah, it's something that maybe I could have solve it, but as a player, whenever you have the ball, you always want to shoot. Even though you see the pole, you never say you're going to play the ball back. I just try to do what I need to do, and it just resulted in a sharp pain. So I just needed to come out from the training and just do the MRI. So after the MRI it was said to be seven weeks out.
Q. Looking ahead, you have a quick turnaround for Tuesday. How do you think you're going to feel?
JOSEPH PAINTSIL: It depends on the staff, whatever that they decide. I'm always there to make an impact. I still have quite a long way to go because I just came back. I just need to be feeling and also make sure that I'm on the level of all the players so that I can also give whatever I need to give.
But even though I'm injured everything, and no matter the minutes they gave me or the opportunity I have, I need to always help my team with my strength, which is the speed. As time goes on, it's really going to fall out really good for the team and for everyone.
Q. Greg Vanney mentioned you're pretty much undergoing your preseason in the regular season. How much of a challenge is it to try to get up to speed against players who are already starting point? And is there anything you're doing differently off the pitch to get in that regular season form?
JOSEPH PAINTSIL: Yeah, they had a lot of -- the preseason, I was really out. I just need to also find my way healthy, strong, especially my strong side, making sure that I work more on it because that's really my strong side.
So I will just, you know, keep working. Nothing is going to change. The only thing that is going to change for me is just to keep on working day-in and day-out to build my lungs, to build my -- yeah, how to fix in, and also the type of play that we have to play; how I need to also, you know, watch whatever the other players are doing so that when I have a chance, I can also fix in and also do the same thing.
As you can see, I have a little bit of a way to go, but it's just one after the other.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports