Marco Fabián returns to Union when they really need him

Marco Fabián was back at full health at practice Tuesday, a welcome sign as the Union prepare for a big test Saturday at Eastern Conference power Toronto FC (3 p.m., PHL17).

“I feel really good,” the Mexican playmaker said after he came off the field. “I trained in full. I feel 100 percent. I am ready for the next game. ... I tried to stay ready last week, but I think [I didn’t play] not because I don’t want to — my ankle wasn’t good."

Fabián’s return from a sprained ankle is good not just for its own sake, but also because the Union need him right now. Brenden Aaronson wasn’t on the field Tuesday after suffering a left hip flexor injury Saturday in a 6-1 rout of the New England Revolution in Chester. The Union haven’t offered any further news on Aaronson’s status yet.

If Aaronson can’t go — certainly if he can’t go 90 minutes — the Union will need Fabián, their biggest star, to have a big game.

“My start of the season was a little complicated," said Fabián, who has played in five games. "I did all the things: I had one red card, I had my injury, but also good things — scored two goals, I had minutes with the team, I felt good. ... When I come back, I come more strong and try to, first for myself, and after that show all the fans who Marco Fabián is.”

The last time the Union (6-3-2, 20 points) faced Toronto was the season opener in Chester on March 2, when the home team fell flat in a 3-1 loss. It was the Union’s first game playing the new tactical system installed by Ernst Tanner during the offseason, and it showed.

That feels like a long time ago. The Union have learned the playbook, and have vaulted into first place.

“Because I’ve had a lot of things [happen] and not played a lot, I think it’s a long time, but it’s really not a long time,” Fabián said. “It was the first game and we didn’t understand a lot. ... A lot of players have a good pass and other things. We got it really fast, the tactics, and we understand we can play with two or three different tactics."

Toronto (5-2-1, 16 points) is even better now than it was then. Though striker Jozy Altidore is likely out while recovering from a hamstring injury, new Reds playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo has been one of MLS’s top additions this year. And while the Union are tied for first place in the East with D.C. United, Toronto has the conference’s best points-per-game average because it has played fewer games.