Its been 14 games and 98 days since Toronto FC fullback Richard Eckersley hurt his hamstring. Somewhat embarrassingly, he suffered the injury celebrating teammate Darel Russells tying goal March 6 against FC Dallas. "Ive learned my lesson," the 24-year-old English defender said with a sheepish smirk. "When other people score then Ill just relax a little bit. But it was the 92nd minute. I think emotions got the better of me. . . . Its happened. I cant really do much about it." Finally healthy - he aggravated the injury during convalescence - Eckersley should see action Saturday as Toronto (2-8-7) visits Sporting Kansas City (8-5-6). Kansas City, which has a 17-point edge over Toronto in the standings, won 2-1 in Chicago last weekend and is undefeated in its last four league outings and in seven of its last eight. Toronto is coming off a bye weekend. Its last outing was July 3 when it blew a 3-1 lead and had to settle for a 3-3 tie with the visiting Montreal Impact. In 2011 and 2012, Eckersley was almost a club constant seeing action in 56 games. This season, the number is just five. Suspensions, international call-ups and injuries have not helped the Toronto backline in recent weeks. Manager Ryan Nelsen has been forced to shift centre back Darren ODea to left fullback and has been playing Ryan Richter at right back in Eckersleys absence. Eckersleys return is welcome for all those reasons. And because he is a tireless runner and a gritty defender who helps drive Toronto. But in the longer run, while the club has said nothing publicly, Eckersleys salary is a problem in a league where the salary cap is a tight US$2.95 million. Listed at $310,000 (and it may be bigger if Toronto has used allocation money to reduce the amount listed against the salary cap), the red-headed Brit makes more than the high-priced defenders voted into the Fan XI for the 2013 all-star game: Kansas Citys Matt Besler ($200,000) and Aurelien Collin ($256,250), and Los Angeles Omar Gonzalez ($282,000). According to the MLS Players Union TFC salary list, Eckersley is the teams third highest-paid player after Dutch striker Danny Koevermans (a designated player with a $1.663-million salary) and defender-captain Darren ODea (whose $465,250 is also problematic). And Eckersleys contract is guaranteed for next season. Spending $300,000-plus on a fullback in MLS is like buying a Prada toilet brush. Its handy and nice to have. But can you justify buying it? Richter, Eckersleys replacement, makes $35,125. The injury has not helped matters, since Eckersley has been reduced to an expensive spectator. Toronto president Kevin Payne, however, admits the club could have handled Eckersleys injury better. "Players, especially younger players like Richard, their enthusiasm sometimes get the better of them," Payne told reporters this week. "And we probably rushed Richard back a little bit or allowed him to rush himself back a little bit. So I think we learned something from that one." Said Eckersley: "I never really rested it the first time round. Obviously I was trying to get back as soon as possible. So I think we didnt give it time to rest and repair itself." He says the injury took a mental toll, "because youre paid to play football and you cant do it." "So you take it out on other members of your family. But they understand. There were times when I was a little bit down but like I say its injuries and youre a footballer, youre a professional athlete and youve got to learn how to deal with them." While Eckersley has been a regular in the TFC lineup, he is no stranger to long-term injury. The former Manchester United youth product had a back injury when he was 17. Striker Danny Koevermans in unavailable Saturday with a calf issue but Robert Earnshaw is healthy again. Toronto is short in midfield with Jonathan Osorio at the Gold Cup with Canada and Luis Silva traded to D.C. United. Still Kansas City manager Peter Vermes calls Toronto an athletic side not to be underestimated. "I think theyre better than they were last year," he told a news conference this week. "I say it all the time. I dont think that record is a good indicator of what kind of team youre playing in this league because theres so much parity." Toronto defeated Kansas City 2-1 at the Rogers Centre in March in the second game of the season for both teams. "I dont think were going to forget that," said Vermes, referring to "soft goals" his team gave away that day. 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Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- Henrik Lundqvist is fresh off the days workout, an hour on the ice followed by a session at the gym. The New York Rangers goaltender has found a table in the back of the cafeteria at the Frolunda Indians practice center here. Hes way in the back, where he can sit and eat his lunch in peace and quiet.Except that hes being pitched a charity project.The person making his pitch surely feels like hes the most important in the world at the moment, as Lundqvist is focused directly on him, seemingly oblivious to anything else taking place in the cafeteria. The man thanks him, they shake hands, and Lundqvist returns to his lunch.Hes dressed in black, from his New York Yankees cap to his T-shirt, to jeans -- fashionably ripped, just right -- all the way down to his shoes. On his left arm, he has a tattoo of the name and birthday of his first-born daughter, Charlise, and on the blocker side arm is an ode to his second daughter, Juli.Maybe it has something to do with his age -- his dark beard now has a few gray hairs -- or maybe its the fact that hes back in Gothenburg, eating the most Swedish of lunches, meatballs and mashed potatoes. But theres an aura of calmness around Lundqvist, 34.He also looks fit, very fit.In my last years in Sweden, I weighed about 190 pounds, he says in Swedish. Then, when I got to the NHL, I got a little heavier, year by year, until I was close to 200 pounds, where it stayed for years. My last three seasons Ive been back at 190. And now I weigh 185 pounds, which I think is a good weight for me.He says that focus on fitness has helped him keep pace an an ever-more demanding NHL.Playing in the league has become physically a lot tougher, says Lundqvist. The young players who enter the league now are much better prepared for it, and the demands are simply higher. So you have to take care of yourself.In 2012, Lundqvist -- who had been nominated in each of his first three seasons -- finally won the Vezina Trophy. He has been one of the best goalies in the world since he entered the NHL (and arguably even before that) in 2005. In fact, he had never finished outside the top six in Vezina voting since then. Until last season.Lundqvist didnt get a single vote after the 2015-16 season, despite posting the seventh-best save percentage in the league and winning 35 games, tied for fourth in the league, while facing the most shots in the NHL. His save percentage, .920, was only .01 below his career average, and only once had he posted a better even-strength save percentage than last seasons .934.So why didnt he get any love for the Vezina? Maybe Lundqvist has raised the bar a little too high. Or maybe the GMs didnt vote after the regular season after all, because Lundqvists postseason numbers werent pretty. His playoffs save percentage was .867 and his goals-against average was 4.39.Back in Gothenburg, he has made peace with the fact that the Rangers season ended way too early, as he puts it, with a first-round loss to the?Pittsburgh Penguins.It was difficult to analyze because overall, I was pretty happy with the way I played and there were some things that I did very well, but then we were steamrolled at the end. How do you grade that? he says.Hes not looking back, but hes not looking too far forward, either.Thats also tthe one piece of advice the 34-year-old veteran goaltender would give the 23-year-old Henrik Lundqvist when he entered the league.ddddddddddddLive in the now, he says. Of course I had big dreams and goals, but that makes it easy to have expectations that are too high. Maybe you forget to enjoy what you have now. You have to live in the now to truly appreciate it, but also to get the most out of yourself.We [NHLers] have it good. Its fun to play and travel and I think I appreciate it more now than when I was younger, he adds.That does sound like a wise man speaking. Hes focused on the here and now. He has been to the Stanley Cup finals, and while he wants to get back -- and win -- more than anything, he realizes that he cant force his way back.Its silly to look too much ahead. You just try to reset everything, Lundqvist says. Its a long journey there, and everything has to go our way, so you just wipe the slate clean and start from square one. And its mentally consuming to think about the playoffs now. Right now, I think of the next few weeks and coming to the rink, working out well, working on the details of my game.On Monday, Lundqvist reported to Team Swedens World Cup camp held, conveniently for him, in Gothenburg. Just like with the Rangers, all eyes will be on Lundqvist when Tre Kronor begins play. In the last best-on-best tournament, the Sochi Olympics, Sweden reached the final, as Lundqvist played every single minute of the tournament and posted a respectable .943 save percentage.Playing under pressure is a part of being a goaltender, and its inspiring to play well and be a decisive factor in the game, says Lundqvist, who also backstopped Sweden to an Olympic gold in Turin in 2006. Theres the pressure, but theres also the thrill of it.His teammates during that run included Nicklas Lidstrom, Mats Sundin?and Daniel Alfredsson. All three are now Team Sweden management advisers.I think its fun to be with the national team. Its often a little polite in the beginning, very Swedish, but the longer were together, the more we expect from each other, says Lundqvist. You need the accountability to have save success.Its players like Lundqvist who set the tone for the team that now also has a new coach, Rikard Gronborg, with experience coaching U.S. college hockey.Hes very direct, very American in that way, and he knows and understands how the NHL players want to do things, says Lundqvist. But for Sweden, the core concept is the importance of the group. Swedes always put the team first, regardless of the system we may play.Were brought up that way, but in the end, you have to win and you dont win by just having a close-knit group, he adds with a laugh.The smile is still there, and appears quickly and often. The crows feet add character to his movie-star looks. He might be older than all but one --?Roberto Luongo?-- of the goalies who did receive votes for Vezina last season, but hes still just 34. His two idols growing up were Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek, and both were older than that when they won the Stanley Cup.Seasons do go by faster these days. Is it really my 12th NHL season? he says. That feels a little ... weird. 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