Clint Dempsey returned to play his first game since August in the Seattle Sounders' preseason clash with the Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
Dempsey played 30 minutes as the Sounders opened their preseason schedule with a 1-1 draw against their rivals in Tuscon, Arizona.
The U.S. forward had been sidelined since last summer by an irregular heartbeat and only recently returned to training with the Sounders.
The ailment caused him to miss the end of the 2016 season -- including the Sounders' run to the the MLS Cup title, and Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said the team is now easing him back toward full strength.
"His recovery is going as scheduled. That was 30 minutes," Schmetzer said, according to MLSSoccer.com. "We couldn't give him anymore.
"Next game we'll ramp him up a little more. We'll have to get doctors' clearance. We're taking it very carefully."
Fans line up post-game to meet Captain America. From tonight's Timbers v. Sounders game. pic.twitter.com/W5PtWEAuE4
- FC Tucson (@FCTucson) February 5, 2017
Dempsey said he hopes to be fully ready to go before the MLS regular season starts in a month's time.
"It's something I love to do, and I worked hard to get into a position to be back on the field," Dempsey said. "And now it's just being sharp, getting touches a little bit better, passes a little bit better. That'll come with games, and I look forward to that process and hopefully being ready for the start of the season."
The recovery plan will also be encouraging to new U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who has said he is eager to have Dempsey available for the national team's crucial CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama at the end of March.