As cliché as it may sound, it is still an unfortunate fact: Injuries are an integral part of athletics. Whether it is a torn ACL or a broken arm, an injury is as much mental as it is physical. The Washington men’s soccer team, like all UW sports teams, has special fitness programs for its injured athletes and keeps them in Seattle during road trips to continue training.

“They do have to work when the team is away,” said head coach Dean Wurzberger. “They’ve got to still go through a regimented training program. On Mondays when we come back, all the guys that didn’t play in the game do a little extra physical work to keep their physical fitness up with the rest. For the group that played, Monday is a regeneration practice; the guys who didn’t play have to get after it a little bit.”

The Huskies have dealt with injuries all season, including a key injury to sophomore defender Tyler Klein that has kept him out of Pac-10 play.

“For me, the main motivation is just getting back [to] playing as quick as I can,” Klein said. “Especially getting hurt right before Pac-10, I just wanted to get back as quick as I could to finish off the Pac-10 play and help the team finish as strong as we could.”

Being injured is not just taxing on the body, it’s also frustrating to be unable to play with teammates who become a second family for many student athletes. At the men’s soccer training, the injured players are incorporated into the practice early on but usually work with the trainers during the second half, which includes the stationary bike, running shuttles and other various activities.

“You really don’t appreciate playing everyday until you can’t,” Klein said.

Wurzberger cites the trainers — head trainer Patrick Jenkins and associate athletic trainer Kathy Thompson — as the scientists behind the formula.

“We’re so lucky that I can carry on coaching, and I don’t have to worry about the right rehab program for them,” Wurzberger said. “So a lot of it is in [the trainers’] court.”

No player has seen the training room as often this season as sophomore midfielder Dylan Tucker-Gangnes. Tucker-Gangnes has received a medical redshirt this season after a hairline fracture in his lowest vertebrae sidelined him at the end of last season.

“This is my first major injury, so it’s kind of been a learning experience having to adjust to rehab and sitting out of practices, watching practice and everything,” Tucker-Gangnes said. “Just starting from ground zero and working your way back up.”

Tucker-Gangnes keeps his injury in perspective, knowing that his opportunity to get back on the pitch during a game is always around the corner.

“You’ve just got to take it one day at a time and focus on getting back to full strength, and helping out the team in practice, and do the little things to help the team prepare for the weekend’s games,” Tucker-Gangnes said. “Also, just keeping the long-term goal of getting back healthy and playing well for next season.”

This idea of always being prepared is ingrained in an athlete’s mind. Their next opportunity can always come when they least expect it, so staying prepared is a necessity, even though an injury can sometimes limit one’s physical ability.

“You’ve just got to think about getting back with the squad,” said junior midfielder Nick James. “That’s what’s motivating you: to get back on the field and get back to playing again, do the best you can to help the team out.”

Klein praised Washington’s medical staff for keeping players in playing shape while going through rehabilitation.

“A lot of biking, a lot of band work, so a lot of one-legged squats,” Klein said. “For me, that’s the main stuff, and then a lot of speed and agility stuff around cones and just strength building.”

Reach reporter Mark Morgan at sports@dailyuw.com.