PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- If there's any lingering tension between Fabian Johnson and Jurgen Klinsmann, it certainly hasn't shown over the last two weeks.
U.S. coach Klinsmann welcomed Johnson -- a player he often describes as one of the most talented in the American player pool -- back in to the national team fold with open arms this month, just weeks after sending the squad's lone UEFA Champions League participant home with a "severe word" after Johnson removed himself in extra time of the Oct. 10 CONCACAF Cup loss to Mexico.
Both men insist that the matter is behind them. And both were all smiles after last week's 6-1, World Cup qualifying-opening win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in which Johnson scored on a first half free kick.
But that doesn't mean Johnson regrets his decision to ask out against El Tri.
"I already felt something in my hamstring at half-time," Johnson -- who hadn't gone into detail about what happened until now -- told ESPN FC in an interview on Monday.
"That's a decision I had to make for me but also for my team, in my opinion. If we have to defend and I can't run anymore, it doesn't help me or the team. I think I made the right choice. We talked about it."
The conversations have gone both ways.
"It's been a good communication with Fabian," Klinsmann said during his pre-match news conference. "I tried to bring my point across what happened in that very specific game, and he understands that ... I try to understand the players' position, and then you explain the coach's position as well."
This sort of back-and-forth isn't uncommon in any team, or at least any healthy one. What was controversial about Klinsmann's approach was that he called out Johnson publicly; even if he was upset with the German-American, it would have been easy for the coach to keep the matter in-house.
"We're not doing certain things for putting somebody down. That's not our goal," Klinsmann said Monday. Nonetheless, the implication was that Johnson had let his teammates down. Indeed, some U.S. players expressed their disapproval privately. Others, though, suggested that Johnson deserved the benefit of the doubt.
"Everybody who knows me, everyone who coaches me or who I played with, they know I care," Johnson said. "The players here and the players with my club understood my decision. I think it's not a big deal. I think almost every player would do the same thing in this situation."
In any case, matters aren't always black and white when it comes to injuries or potential injuries -- a point Klinsmann seemed to concede on Monday.
"It's always tricky for coaches to look inside of a player, how he feels about certain things," Klinsmann said. "You can never say if it's the fear of an injury or if it's an injury, because only the player feels that."
Johnson, 27, has been hampered by minor ailments throughout his four years with the U.S. team. He missed a pair of U.S. games in September with a calf injury, and after a five-week absence had recently returned to Borussia Monchengladbach's lineup before the Mexico game.
"It was the same feeling I'd had in my calf before, so I didn't want to risk anything," Johnson said. "As you get older and get more experience, you get to know your body. I think you know how far you have to go, when you have to be careful.
"[Klinsmann] said he could also understand my position.
"He gave me his view. We had a good talk. I'm here again, and I'm happy to be with the team."