Steven Goff's article on the start of preseason for the Washington Post didn't tell us much we didn't know already, but that isn't his fault; blame the lack of signings or even rumored signings.

However, he did get one big quote, and it was head coach Ben Olsen commenting on Designated Player Branko Boskovic's fitness. Olsen went on to call Boskovic "motivated," and later told the club website that "Branko is ready to go."

For United fans, this is a significant development. The most likely starting team at this point would include Boskovic at attacking midfield, but an awful lot was riding on his fitness coming into the preseason. After arriving halfway through the 2010 season short of fitness - somewhat excusable due to the fact that he was signed during the European offseason - Boskovic turned up for the 2011 preseason out of shape.

Finally close to top form six weeks into the season, Boskovic suffered a torn ACL near the end of a 3-2 loss in US Open Cup qualifying to the New England Revolution. The cruelty of the injury was compounded by the fact that Boskovic scored twice, hit the post on a freekick, and generally looked like he could be worth the big bucks for the first time.

A fit and in-form Boskovic will allow Dwayne De Rosario to play the roaming forward role he most often played while scoring goals for fun in 2011, and would significantly mitigate the problems United suffered when Chris Pontius was hurt.