Tomás Chancalay eager to play in front of Revolution fans in Foxborough after return versus Atlanta United

FOXBOROUGH, MA– After an emotional return versus Atlanta United, New England Revolution forward Tomás Chancalay is back & ready to assist in leading the squad back to the MLS Cup playoffs.

Tomás Chancalay warms up prior to an MLS match between New England Revolution & Atlanta United. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.

On May 25th, 2024, During the Revolution’s 1-0 defeat at home versus NYCFC, forward Tomás Chancalay went down with a right knee injury just 38 seconds into the match after attempting a slide tackle. He continued to play in the match and was eventually replaced in the 11th minute by forward Esmir Bajraktarević.

Just days later, the Revolution announced that Chancalay would undergo season-ending knee surgery to repair a partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and would be added to the Season-Ending Injury List for the remainder of the 2024 season.

After just 12 matches, his 2024 season was over. The team stated that Chancalay would be out until “late April – early May of 2025”.

Tomás Chancalay poses with his two children after undergoing ACL surgery. Image: @tomichancalay on Instagram.

Following his surgery in July, Chancalay shared via social media that his post-surgery was “extremely ugly” and that he endured “a lot of pain & self-uncertainty”. He stated, ” [Surgery] woke up demons and fears that I did not know existed, it was a mental struggle that I never imagined, before I believed that I was indestructible really, and life told me no.”

When speaking with media, Chancalay noted the importance of his family being by his side during his recovery.

“My family, and I worked with psychologists. I think that helped me feel good mentally. It’s important for me, in addition to the physical parts. On the physical side, I worked with our trainers and medical staff here at the club. The psychological part of it is very important and that’s why I worked with psychologists and the support of my family.”

From July to January, Chancalay endured months of physical therapy and recovery in order to return to play for the New England Revolution.

In January of 2025, Chancalay returned to the field, where he began training off to the side with New England Revolution trainers.

Tomás Chancalay begins to train off to the side at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

With the help of Sports Performance Director Federico Pizzuto, Strength & Conditioning coach Michael Steidle, Head Athletic Trainer Eric Schwartz & many more members of the New England Revolution staff, Chancalay began to prepare for his return to play.

He worked primarily off to the side at every training session, specifically with the coaches above.

In late March, Revolution head coach Caleb Porter stated, “Right now with Chancalay, he’s still in the final stages of return to play. So, he’s still a couple weeks out.”

While slowly getting stronger & his fitness back up to speed, Chancalay was integrated back into full-time drills with the squad in early April.

On how he felt to re-join the squad, Chancalay stated, “I’m feeling good with the team. We’ve been training for a long time, since preseason and since we started here. I’m feeling good with the team.”

After months of preparation & recovery, Chancalay appeared on the bench for New England’s MLS match versus Atlanta United for the first time since tearing his ACL in 2024.

Tomás Chancalay jogs onto the pitch for the first time in 2025. ©Adrian Heinsohn-Roe

Just 322 days after tearing his ACL, Chancalay entered the match in the 77th minute.

During the match, Chancalay had 1 shot attempt (100% accuracy). Tomás had 14 touches and went 4/6 (67%) on accurate passes throughout the match with 0/1 accuracy on long balls (0%) and 1/1 (100%) on accurate crosses. He went 0/1 (0%) on successful dribbles and was dispossessed 1 time during the match. He had two defensive actions & went 1/4 (25%) on ground duels & 0/1 (0%) on aerial duels. He was fouled once and committed 2 fouls during the match.

When reflecting on his return, Chancalay noted that he felt many emotions upon his return to play.

“Yeah, honestly, I was very emotional. I think my first game back is now in the past and I have to shift focus on how I can help the team. I’m really happy to be back. I hope that I can help this team with everything ahead of us so we can achieve the goals that we’ve set for ourselves.”

Upon discussions on the mental & physical aspects of his recovery, Chancalay stated, “I think the most difficult part is getting past the fear outside of the physical part of injuries. I think I’ve done a good job to overcome that, and that’s why I felt good to play now.”

At the end of the final whistle, Chancalay fell to his knees and was embraced by a handful of his teammates. At the conclusion of the match, in the locker room, the team posed together, holding up Chancalay’s #7 jersey.

“I’m happy because I did this not just for myself but for my teammates too. Seeing my teammates and how they hugged and embraced me, and how they spoke of me last week leading into the match, that made me very happy. It helped me realize that I did a good job getting back. It was great, for me, that they saw my efforts so that they know that I’m here, I want to help the team, and I want to be here with my teammates.”

Tomás Chancalay falls to his knees after the fulltime whistle in an MLS match between New England Revolution & Atlanta United. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.

When speaking on his early return to the field, Chancalay’s focus was primarily on the team and focusing on getting back into the playoffs.

“It’s very important. We have a lot of games left. We’re in a better position after getting the win over the weekend. Hopefully we can continue getting points and winning so we can reach our goal of making the playoffs. We’ll do everything possible. I’m happy because I know there a lot of games left and I know I can help the team.”

One thing is for certain, Chancalay is excited and is looking forward to his return to play in front of New England Revolution fans in Foxborough.

He stated, “I want to see the fans here. The fans stayed with me all the time. They reached out to me, when I was coming to games to watch my teammates. I want to say, ‘I want to see you guys.’ I want to play here. I will try to score, and we’ll try to win a game here.”

Tomás Chancalay thanks fans after an MLS match between New England Revolution & Atlanta United. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.

Tomás Chancalay & the New England Revolution (2-1-4, 7 pts.) return home to face off against Eastern Conference side New York City FC (2-2-3, 8 pts). The match is set to kickoff at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

(Editor’s Note: For more of Adrian Heinsohn-Roe’s photos, click on the link)