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Abdi Salim remembered feeling a pop in his leg. Five minutes into his eighth start for SU against Bowling Green last February, head coach Ian McIntyre yelled at him because he wasn’t staying tight on a striker. The next time the ball came his way, Salim applied immediate pressure to the forward, but took a hard step. After a few days of rehab, Salim was told he tore his right ACL. 

Salim was very willing to play in this manner. Many of Salim’s former coaches and teammates described his style of play as “aggressive” and “physical,” constantly tackling and grabbing opposing attackers.

Before the tear, Salim never worried about his style of play affecting his body. The tear and complications with the knee cost him the entire 2021 season. But he eventually recovered and regained full health, especially after playing in the spring and summer. After more frustrations throughout the early portions of this season, Salim said he’s still as strong as he was before the tear, finally playing a full 90 minutes last Friday.

“He’s way more aggressive and seems a little bit quicker to the ball,” said Saleman Salim, Abdi’s older brother. “He’s not 100% fit, but you could see right away he’s more aggressive and hungrier than before.” 

Salim and Saleman played the video game “FIFA” while Salim recovered. Saleman jokingly said that Salim played “too much” as his younger brother couldn’t take the field.

Salim had to recover once before from a knee injury as he tore his MCL before going to Buffalo State in 2018. He was stubborn, though, and didn’t look for treatment, and the MCL healed itself. 

“I just kept playing for two years straight,” Salim said. “So I think the ACL (tear) was bound to happen.”

Initially, Salim didn’t feel any pain and was skeptical two days later when a doctor told him to rehab for a potential tear. Through the first few weeks, Salim only stayed in his bed, attending Zoom classes. His teammates helped him with everyday chores when he couldn’t. Salim slowly started jogging and had instructions on when to stretch. Soon enough, Salim practiced dribbling, going as intensely as possible in these drills, Saleman said. 

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Prior to the tear, Salim never focused on stretching before or after matches. But once he started to play one-on-one pickup games against Saleman, he stretched an hour before and 45 minutes after. While Salim still didn’t feel better in the 2021 season, his improvement came into fruition during the months afterwards.   

In December 2021, his former SU teammate Sondre Norheim talked to Salim, who started to feel optimistic about returning. As he recovered, Salim got on the radar of Kevin Nuss, the head coach of the Ocean City Nor’easters, a USL League Two team.

Once Nuss talked with the SU’s coaching staff, specifically assistant coach Sean Lawlor, the Nor’easters picked up Salim in the spring. Nuss and his staff were concerned about how athletic he could be coming off the tear. But in the first practice, Salim found his rhythm as he saw the opportunity as a “fresh start,” appreciating that coaches took a “gamble” on him.

“From the first day, you could see that he was back and he was comfortable,” Nuss said. 

The Ocean City coaching staff kept in constant communication with how Salim was feeling, giving him rest days if he played in back-to-back games. Similar to Syracuse, the Nor’easters played three or four players in the back, where Salim played as a right center back.

Initially, Salim had to mend to the demands of Nuss’ system. The Nor’easters always wanted to play in the opponents half, so Salim sometimes dribbled 50 yards up the pitch. He eventually got used to it, even contributing on offense. On a free kick against Reading United AC, Salim headed the ball to the center of the box where teammate MD Meyers scored the match-sealing goal.

By the end of his time in New Jersey, Salim felt just like he did on the pitch before the tear. He talked with McIntyre about using the summer to get better, finally ready to play in the fall. 

During Syracuse’s opening match of the season against Iona, Salim was on the sidelines, staring out at the pitch and taking deep breaths before his first appearance. As the starting right centerback, he matched up with Iona forward Joe Wright, getting into aerial battles for the ball. Salim and Wright grabbed each other throughout the match, though Salim fouled more often.

When he started to feel his right leg stiffen up, Salim subbed out of the game. According to Salim, the stiffness came from his Iliotibial (IT) band in that right leg. The day after the Orange’s 2-0 victory, Salim, sitting in the lounge of Manley Field House, kept grasping his right knee. 

Salim missed the next match, dealing with an aggravated back as well. He finally played a full 90 minutes in Syracuse’s 2-1 victory over then-No. 1 Clemson. With 20 minutes left in the first half, the Orange had to defend against a Tigers corner kick. 

The ball went straight for the junior defender, who fought off a Clemson attacker and got his head on the ball to force a clearance. While this caused Salim to fall head first into the ground, he immediately got back up and got back into his position in the backline. He’s remained resolute in playing the game how he always has. 

“I still go physical and aggressive because you need that in the game,” Salim said. “You don’t want to come in soft.”

Published on September 20, 2022 at 11:23 pm

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