Obinna Nwobodo Is Back in Action with FC Cincinnati Thanks to his 'Grinding' Approach and Commitment to the Process
MLS FC Cincinnati

Obinna Nwobodo Is Back in Action with FC Cincinnati Thanks to his 'Grinding' Approach and Commitment to the Process

Published on October 10, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


Obinna Nwobodo only believed he could make his way back from surgery because his coaches and team leaders believed he could. Coaches and team leaders only believed Obinna Nwobodo could make his way back from surgery this season because Nwobodo believed he could. It's not clear who believed in who first, but it was only through mutual support and belief that FC Cincinnati's dominant defensive midfielder is now back in action for the club and ready for a playoff run.

Well, kinda.

Midfield wrecking ball Obinna Nwobodo is back in training this week, without "training wheels" on, for the first time after being out for months recovering from his surgically repaired quadriceps muscle; an injury sustained after an awkward play at Montréalin June. Nwobodo himself would not describe himself as "back" - his version of that would be playing in a game and not just training. But Pat Noonan, ahead of the club's trip to New York Red Bulls last weekend described him as available, using the bicycle related reference, but added that they would be mindful of how they best work him back into the system given how long he had been away.

The club ultimately opted not to travel Nwobodo to that game (where The Orange and Blue would win 1-0 without him), instead opting for a cautious approach by waiting one more week to get him back in training more often while also avoiding the potential stress of travel days. Now, with an international break to ease him back in, Nwobodo is full steam ahead in training and ready to contribute in whatever way he can.

"I am not someone that does something 50/50, I always give my all. So in anything I'm doing, in my rehab, in practice, everything, I'm giving it all," Nwobodo said in a press availability after a training session this week. "And I believe that once I give my all, every other thing will come."

Nwobodo's status of "officially back" was also further cemented on Thursday as, according to both on field and medical staff sources, the midfielder "bodied" a teammate in training with a tackle, much to the pleasure and celebration of the team as a whole who all briefly stopped to celebrate the moment. The intensity the Nigerian midfielder brings to training is hard to replace, but with Nwobodo putting in a hard tackle his presence has been, according to at least some, reestablished.

"I am not someone that does something 50/50," Nwobodo reiterated with a smile.

It was initially unclear if Nwobodo would be back this season after his injury and surgery to repair it. The timeline made his return window narrow, and if a setback of any significance occurred, it would likely spell the end of the year for the midfielder. FC Cincinnati had a tough decision to make given that potential. They could have chosen to just shut him down for the year, let him recover, and use the Season Ending Injury designation to find a potential replacement for this season.

If they were to do that, and get the full benefits of that choice, they would need to decide to do so before the opening of the Summer Transfer Window, months before Nwobodo's expected return date with plenty of time for something to go wrong.

But the club's decision makers believed in the player, and believed that given what they know about Obi Nwobodo specifically, he would be able to recover in time to play a role in FC Cincinnati's success this season. They believed that Obi, given all the hard work he does and has done, deserved the trust and the opportunity to return to action.

"Obi is not replaceable...he is a giant piece of what we do and is one-of-one in our league as far as ball recovery, intensity, leadership, so it's a big hole," FC Cincinnati General Manager Chris Albright said earlier this summer when discussing Nwobodo's injury. "If there's any chance that you're looking at a healthy Obi, and you're going into a playoff series with, well pick any team, you'd probably want to be able to use a healthy Obi."

"We knew the timeline would be right there, and then you factor in the human that's going to be attacking that rehab, and then you feel real comfortable with the timeline," Albright said later in the summer when speaking on how Nwobodo's recovery was progressing. "Obi has been the best patient that you could imagine - I'm sure that surprises no one - so we know that he's got the fight in him to fight like hell to be back to help us compete."

That trust paid off as Nwobodo was "the ideal patient" per a member of the club's Sports Performance team, reinforcing Albright's characterization. The Nigerian midfielder reportedly worked tirelessly, and to the letter of the instructions provided to him, to give himself a chance to return to action this season.

"I had a surgery that maybe most people don't believe, or didn't believe, that I will be back right now because of the type of surgery I had," Nwobodo continued. "But I believed that if I do everything I can in my possible power, by listening to the medical team doing everything they asked me to do, and push myself as much as I can, then I can come back. But even then if I don't come back, then I will know I did my all.

"I'm happy for those who helped me to come back. With the help of the medical team, everyone in the team, and also for the management, for believing that I will come back."

Nwobodo's commitment to his return is best displayed in his consistency and his willingness to push himself beyond his own comfort level when medical instructions asked him to; part of the rehabilitation process can be doing things that challenge you, but his trust in the process made it a quicker return.

First Team Physical Therapist Jason Stallons guided Nwobodo through the early stages of the process before other members of the Sports Performance team would come into the plan and have hands-on participation in Nwobodo's recovery. But in those first days and weeks post-surgery, Stallons was there as the tone was set.

"He was an absolute grinder," Stallons said of Nwobodo in conversation inside the training room this week. "The key with him was that he was mentally tough the whole way through, and if there was a target or a goal we had set for him, he would meet it, no matter how tough it was. He would absolutely grind through all the boring, but important, elements of recovery and never complained once."

An example of this "grinding" came in his immediate rehab post-op, where Nwobodo set the tone for his recovery.

Initially, as in the first few weeks post-op, there was very little they could do. There was a plan in place for the long haul but part of that plan is that there's very little to do immediately after surgery. But with a player like Nwobodo, stimulating the mind is an important element of recovery.

One thing they need to do, even if it felt small, was for Nwobodo to hit a certain step count in the day. They needed him to walk around, but given that it was one of the very few things they could do, they needed to find ways to give Nwobodo something to work for. So they set a progressive step goal every day that was optimistic but somewhat realistic.

So Nwobodo, bucking "optimistic" ensured he hit the goal every day, no matter how high the goal grew. After daily team training ended he would set out from the training room and began his walk around the pitches at Mercy Health Training Center, every day, without fail. And every day he would meet his goal.

"He crushed this, basically from day one," Stallons added on Nwobodo. "He was bought in 100 percent from the get-go but that only comes from trust with us. We presented a plan that's going to get him back on time, but will be really challenging, really tough on him, and require patience, and he rose to it every day. Literally. Every day he came to it grinding, grinding, grinding and now he's here. He had to watch everyone else, all his teammates, do the fun things and play, meanwhile he's walking on a treadmill with BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) on his legs and every muscle absolutely screaming at him to stop, but Obi never wavered from his commitment to the process. That's really hard, but he trusted us with the plan and never doubted the processes. We can make a plan but ultimately it came down to him and he crushed it. It was a really pleasure to work with him."

On an early occasion, Nwobodo would set out on his walk with a set distance target of one mile. Nwobodo would return 10 minutes later. Rather than taking a simple walk around the pitches of MHTC, Nwobodo returned, having moved as quickly as he could to finish the one mile target. A feat that set a tone, even if it needed amending.

"It's really nice to have him back...he's really pushed himself to be available," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said last week ahead of the match with the Red Bulls. "At the end of the rehab and just how he's kind of pushed over the last two, three weeks, it's been done with high intensity. So he's not jumping into training and this is a shock to his system. Credit to the training staff and medical, everybody involved, sports performance, to get him to this place, and his own determination."

"It's not like he has hopped into training these first couple days and we're unsure of what Obi we're going to see," Noonan continued. "When he's ready, he's ready, and you can feel his presence. I think that these last couple weeks have prepared him for game minutes. And like I said, how do we want to utilize him this weekend and moving forward...he'll be pushed in a way that is going to be necessary for him to just be sharp as opposed to physically prepared."

That phase of Nwobodo's recovery was only one part of a larger recovery, but was instrumental in setting the group work for his return and put him ahead of schedule for his recovery. Versions of that story occurred through the entirety of the process, improving his timeline for return while also encouraging club decision makers that Nwobodo would be able to return in time.

By the time a decision was needed to be made, the rehab process (fueled by Nwobodo's commitment to it) had progressed to a place where the team felt comfortable in not only his ability to return on time, but that he would be strong enough to help the team win when he returned.

"The motivation and the belief come from that I know I'm working to be back before playoffs, and my team believes that I will be back, so I have to do everything I can to get there," Nwobodo shared as to his biggest motivation during recovery. "For them to believe that I will come back is a big motivation for me, so even if I have a little doubt as a human being on myself...I have them who believe in me and I can use that to believe in me."

Nwobodo indicated that the biggest challenge he faced in the scope of the injury was the surgery itself. His preference initially would have been to not get it and try to recover in a different way, but when presented with a plan by the medical team he trusted their judgement and decided to follow that plan to a T.

Once he underwent the surgery, and was able to return to the team environment, he says the hardest part was behind him because A.) he was able to just follow the plan laid out for him, but perhaps more importantly B.) he was back in with his teammates and able to participate in a team environment.

During that time where he was working on his rehab alone, Nwobodo took every opportunity to participate with the team. He didn't miss a team meeting or video session, even though he was weeks away from participating. If there was a position group meeting or film session he would have been involved in, he was there. If there was a team function inside or outside the facility, he participated. When new players joined the club, he ensured as a team leader he was meeting with them so that they felt welcome and knew what FC Cincinnati was about, even though he wasn't able to play with them on the field.

Newcomers, like Samuel Gidi or Brenner (a returner, so, maybe a different case), highlighted that Nwobodo was one of the first to reach out and connect with them when the news broke that they would be joining the team.

He followed the team schedule exactly as it was so he would be as part of the team as possible, and worked with the medical staff to schedule and organize his rehabilitation to match that calendar as closely as possible so he wouldn't miss a moment.

That was for the betterment of the team as a whole given Nwobodo's leadership quality, but also for him as being part of the team made it easier for him to stick to the plan even when things got hard.

For that, Nwobodo credits the medical team for helping shepherd him through the process. But in contrast, the medical professionals themselves deflected that praise and instead highlighted Nwobodo's professionalism and commitment to his recovery as the reason he was able to get back in action. They say, all that other stuff is just window dressing on what really happened.

"This is for the medical team. They followed every part of my rehab. They tell me the process and I follow. I listen to them. They make it possible," Nwobodo said. "So any day they believe I am ready for a challenge, I was always ready...even if I didn't believe I was.

"So this is mostly the medical team. Whatever they thought was a good thing for me, I listened to them. I try to listen as much as possible, to follow them, because this is their job, and I have to only tell them how I feel."

With the 2025 regular season coming to an end soon, Nwobodo has been anxious to get back in action and help the team. He's wanted to, for several weeks, push harder and make his return to game action before the playoffs but has trusted the guidance of his training staff at every step. But now back in training with no restrictions, he can see how by sticking to the plan he has ended up in a better place.

Head Coach Pat Noonan indicated in a press conference ahead of the final road match against the Red Bulls, when he said Nwobodo was back in training, that part of the rehab plan and his "return to play" was to put Nwobodo in a position where, when he was back on the field, they knew he was able to help the team. Noonan indicated in that press availability that because of the work Nwobodo did, they feel like they don't have to worry about Nwobodo and when he does take the field for the first time, they will know exactly what he can provide to the team,

"I can't push more than what they already planned for me for my rehab," Nwobodo added, highlighting how the team already factored in his ambition and work rate into the plan. "So it's not about being cautious. It's about the medical team, and they believe I wasn't ready to play. Maybe I felt like I was, but they believe I wasn't, and it's okay. It's normal for me to feel that way... I would have loved to be (out) there. But most importantly, it's not just to play one (game), it's about to play one and play the next, and hopefully play all the games and help the team...I feel I can do that now because of what we've done."

Nwobodo and FC Cincinnati take on CF Montréal in their final day of the 2025 MLS season, also known as Decision Day. The match at TQL Stadium on Saturday, October 18, will help decide The Orange and Blue's postseason position and could help them secure the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs.

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