Last year, Fire winger Chris Mueller knew his hip needed to be fixed to save his career. While it was difficult to handle missing most of the season, there was a hidden positive to his ordeal.
In May, Mueller underwent season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right hip to shave down the head of the femur. Because of that impingement — a common ailment for the general population but one that can severely impact athletes — the joint tore away at the labrum of his hip and kept getting worse, reaching a breaking point early last season.
Determined to push through the pain and help the Fire, Mueller first realized that might not be possible after their April 23 game at Atlanta. He started one more match and came on as a substitute in two more before deciding to have the surgery.
“Even after that [Atlanta game], I was coming in off the bench, but I was really not myself and kept feeling like I had to go through and get this procedure done so that I could be good for the future, for the second half of my career,” Mueller said. “I’ve been playing for seven, eight seasons now. That was my whole goal, was to get this done, this problem that’s been lingering for a little while so I can come back and have a second half [of my career].”
Not playing was challenging for Mueller. Soccer has long been a part of his life. Even as a kid, he would go out with friends to kick the ball around and blow off steam. But the surgery took that off the table.
The procedure and rehab forced Mueller to pivot and learn how to support the team from the sideline. It also allowed him to spend more time with the newest member of his family.
In July, Mueller and wife Alyssa welcomed their first child, a daughter. Though Mueller missed playing, being out of the lineup had its benefits.
“I was able to be around a little bit more versus when you’re traveling and playing games, you’ve got to go away on the road so often,” Mueller said. “I was able to be here for my wife while she was recovering and for my child. I was able to be there for the first little bit, which is awesome. It’s obviously been, as most people would tell you, the best experience of their life.”
On the field, last Saturday was a milestone for Mueller. He made his first start since April 29, 2023, playing 70 minutes in the Fire’s 2-1 win over Houston. Highly competitive, Mueller knows how bad it feels to lose and not play well, and how great it feels when things are going well.
Mueller had to manage that middle ground during his recovery, but now he has something else to keep him grounded.
“At the end of the day when you go home and you see your family or I walk out of the locker room at the end of a game and I’m upset if I didn’t play a lot or the team lost or whatever that looks like and you see your daughter [and] your family, it puts a smile on your face right away,” Mueller said. “You forget all the stresses that come with it because at the end of the day, it is just a game.
“Whether you win or lose, the way she looks at me isn’t going to be any different if I score, if the team wins. I’m always just going to be her dad, and that’s the coolest bit to it.”
