Brian McBride took the long pass over his shoulder, settling the ball with one deft touch, keeping a defender on his back, then spinning quickly to drive a left-footed shot past backup goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra.

It was only a short-field game in practice Tuesday, but the point was made. This is how McBride says, "Put me in, coach."

Less than two months after July 17 surgery on his right shoulder that was supposed to keep him out 3-4 months, McBride is back practicing with his club, getting ready for the final push toward the playoffs. There's no word on when he'll get back in the lineup, and coach Denis Hamlett errs on the side of caution with all injuries, but the veteran forward sure looked like he's healthy and regaining his touch.

"I feel pretty good," McBride said, leaving his return to game action up to Hamlett. "I'm glad to be back and involved. The shoulder's doing well."

"He's been full go for the last three days, I think, so it's a nice surprise," Hamlett said. "He's a guy that's a warrior. He worked real hard when he was out, and now it's just trying to get the soccer part right.

"We'll continue to go cautious. We don't want to rush him back, we want to be smart on that end. We've waited long enough. We'll just continue to push him along and see how the body responds and if he's feeling good we can think about doing it. I don't want to put a date on it or anything like that."

The Fire probably will head to Salt Lake City this weekend without McBride, but it sure would be fun to see McBride for the Sept. 20 game against Eastern Conference leader Columbus, his former team, even if only as a second-half substitute.

As for next season, McBride continues to deflect questions, saying that's up to ownership. Nothing is likely to happen until the off-season, but it would be a surprise if McBride isn't wearing Fire red next spring.

The homestretch: After taking advantage of a weekend without a game, the Fire returned to the practice field Tuesday focused on the final six regular-season games, three at home and three on the road.

"It was real important," coach Denis Hamlett said of the break. "When you think about how long our season is and the grind that we've been through during the summer, when we have an opportunity to get our guys 3-4 days away from soccer and sort of clear the minds and rest our bodies a little bit and just get away from it, I think it's important. We come back and they're a little bit recharged and get ready for the big push these last six games. The timing of it is important, and also the fact that we know now we have one game a week, which is nice and we can go through preparation the right way and have a few days to recover."

Hamlett doesn't want to talk about the departed Bakary Soumare anymore. Even Chris Rolfe, who last week signed a "pre-contract" with Danish club Aalborg, as FIFA rules allow, preferred to concentrate on September, October and November rather than his move abroad in January, adding he doesn't feel any awkwardness about the situation.

"No, not for me. Obviously, I'm still committed to this team and all my friends here," Rolfe said, mentioning the team goal of winning the Supporters' Shield, which goes to the team with the league's best regular-season record. "I've been here for five years, so it's not like I want to ditch these guys or I won't take it as serious. It's something that I've been committed to and if anything it will help me probably commit myself even more and help these guys to win the (MLS) Cup."

Rolfe declined to disclose the terms of his deal with Aalborg.

"It's a club that's been watching me for a little while, and they tried to buy me this summer," Rolfe said. "The (Fire) didn't want to accept it."

Qualifying: World Cup qualifying continues Wednesday night with the United States at Trinidad and Tobago (6:30 p.m., ESPN Classic). It's virtually a must-win game for the Yanks. The race for the three automatic spots is as close as CONCACAF could have hoped, and the fourth team might have to defeat Argentina to get to South Africa.

Then there's the reality that if you can't defeat T&T, even on the road, maybe you shouldn't be going to the World Cup without a ticket.

Last call: Fire goalkeepers Jon Busch and Andrew Dykstra and goalkeeper coach Daryl Shore will be at The Kerryman Irish Pub before Wednesday's qualifier as guest bartenders, with tips going to the Chicago Fire Foundation.

Drive in: The Loyola University men's soccer team will host St. Louis University at 7 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Park, getting their chance to play in a professional setting.

oschwarz@dailyherald.com