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Nashville SC hopes Walker Zimmerman, its 'Hercules' on defense, can stay healthy
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- Nashville SC hopes Walker Zimmerman, its 'Hercules' on defense, can stay healthy
At this point, his name is penciled in on the MLS Best XI months before it's released. Year in and year out, he leads one of the stiffest defenses in the league.
The accolades and numbers say the 2023 season was more or less another typical Walker Zimmerman performance. That's not the story Zimmerman will tell you.
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Instead, the Nashville SC designated player dealt with an Achilles injury, missing seven games and needing medication to be ready for several more. The 1,841 minutes in MLS play were his fewest since 2017. In January, he told CBS Sports Golazo that there "probably wasn't a game where I wasn't playing through some pretty severe pain" from June on.
On Sunday, Zimmerman made his 2024 debut in Nashville's MLS opener against the New York Red Bulls . The center back entered as a substitute in the 62nd minute and helped Nashville earn a 0-0 draw , a result that, considering the shorthanded lineup , felt in some ways like a win.
There's little doubt it was just that for Zimmerman.
"It's a great feeling," he said. "Obviously, it's been a long time. . . . To get back and feel like I was able to make an impact on the game was special."
Feb 25, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New York Red Bulls forward Elias Manoel (11) and Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman (25) collide going up for a header at Geodis Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Zimmerman, who didn't play in Thursday's CONCACAF Champions Cup win at Moca FC in the Dominican Republic, missed four of five preseason games and came off the bench in the other. He described the time off as a "blessing and a curse." The competitor in him wanted to be on the field. The realist in him knew he needed the rest.
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Since the beginning of 2021, he has made 29 appearances for the United States national team. He started three games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Last season, Nashville had its most grueling schedule ever, thanks to a run to the Leagues Cup final.
Through it all, Zimmerman scored two goals, recorded 100 clearances and a team-high 31 interceptions as Nashville allowed fewer goals (32) than all but one team, and he became just the sixth player in MLS history to be selected to the Best XI five times.
"I think he paid the price for that," Nashville coach Gary Smith said.
On Sunday, though, Zimmerman was his "imperious" self, and in Smith's words, "propped up the backline like Hercules." He provided support for Jack Maher and Lukas MacNaughton , who were beaten on multiple long balls in the first half and had struggled to keep up with RBNY attackers Dante Vanzeir and Elias Manoel .
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Before Zimmerman's entrance, Nashville had been outshot 14-2. In the game's last half-hour, Nashville took three shots to the Red Bulls' two and finally enjoyed extended stretches of possession in the opposing half, thanks to the strength of the five-player back line.
Maher and MacNaughton are quality MLS starters. But they aren't Zimmerman — and it was evident in how they, according to Smith, "grew in stature" when he took the field.
"He's that influential," Smith said. "There's no getting away from it. Some players make others better, as well as being very, very good themselves. Others are just good players. Walker is the first. He makes other players around him better. He gives them confidence in the way he plays, the way he projects himself."
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Even as Nashville teetered on the brink against the Red Bulls, Smith was hesitant to insert Zimmerman any earlier than he did. With a breathless early schedule that could include six games in the next 2½ weeks, Nashville likely will want to be as cautious with its star defender as it can.
And it will have good reason to. The Zimmerman that Nashville got for just over half an hour on Sunday is the Zimmerman it will need if it wants to make reality out of its lofty expectations for 2024 .
"I feel really good physically now," he said. "We'll see how I respond, and I should get some more minutes as I keep building on Wednesday and moving forward."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC: Walker Zimmerman puts injury-plagued 2023 season in past
