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MLS Ticker: Defoe ruled out again; Rogers loaned to LA Galaxy II; and more

JermainDefoeTFC1-DCUnited2014 (USATodaySports)

By RYAN TOLMICH

Toronto FC will look to win their second straight game this weekend, despite the absence of one of the club’s big money signings.

TFC star Jermain Defoe will miss this week’s match with the Colorado Rapids due to a hamstring injury, according to TFC head coach Ryan Nelson.

Defoe, who missed last Saturday’s 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew with the same injury, currently finds himself sitting second in the league in goalscoring with three goals in his first three MLS contests.

The Englishman will join Doneil Henry (knee) on the injured list, while Jonathan Osorio (hamstring) and Alvaro Rey (hamstring) are also doubtful for TFC. The club will also make a decision on Michael Bradley’s status closer to kickoff.

“Michael, we’re giving him every single chance,” Ryan Nelson told reporters at the team’s training ground. “He’s done his stuff this morning and we’ll make a decision tomorrow. Michael just wants to play every single minute of every single game. It’s a measure of the man. It’s these slight things that have caught up to him, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

Here are some more news items from around MLS:

GALAXY LOAN ROGERS TO LA GALAXY II

The LA Galaxy announced Friday that they had loaned four players, including Robbie Rogers, to USL Pro side LA Galaxy II for this Sunday’s match with Sacramento Republic FC.

Rogers, who made headlines last year when he became the first openly gay man to compete in a North American professional league, will be joined by Galaxy teammates Kyle Venter, Brian Rowe and Chandler Hoffman on loan.

The move will give Rogers a chance to regain his fitness, as the American has been plagued by injuries since making his return to the MLS. Rogers has been sidelined since February with a “stress reaction.”

EVANS TO MISS FOURTH STRAIGHT MATCH THIS WEEKEND

The Seattle Sounders will once again be without one of their midfield cogs over the weekend when they take on FC Dallas.

Sounders midfielder Brad Evans will likely miss the club’s match with FC Dallas this weekend after sitting out four straight games with a calf injury. However, Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid is hopeful that Evans will be fit for next week’s match with Chivas USA.

“Brad is coming along slowly,” Schmid told the Seattle Times on Thursday. “I don’t know if there’s enough there yet for him to play this weekend. But we think the next weekend he should be on.”

Evans’ potential replacement, Andy Rose, is also in danger of missing this weekend’s game with a hamstring injury.

“With Andy, we’re sort of going to make a decision here in terms of him possibly traveling with us,” Schmid said. “He went through the possession, and then we wanted to pull him out so he wouldn’t aggravate it. But it seems to be OK.”

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How do you think TFC  will respond to a second game without Defoe? Starting to wonder when Evans will return for Seattle?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • I feel like when he was in the closet he had something to prove and showed it on the field. Now it doesnt seem like he has the same chip on the shoulder and is not the player he was.

      Reply
      • Agreed regarding injuries impacting his ability to prove himself on the field so far after the LA trade, especially relative to the season Magee had after the trade in Chicago.

        Regardless, this trade keeps looking worse and worse from the LA perspective…

      • Nothing to do with the announcement. He was pretty inconsistent before and was far removed from regular pt by the time he made it to LA. Injuries have compounded his on the field shortcomings. I always thought he underperformed for his potential. His speed and two-footed wide play could have been a real asset to the US, if he was ever able to put it all together.

      • Agreed. Always felt he had speed, quickness, but was inconsistent with hitting crosses on the mark .

    • And I remember a number of people, myself included, complaining about how one sided the trade was in favor of the Galaxy.

      Reply
    • That’s one way of looking at things – I mean who cares about those intangibles, right? Go on with your bad self and get that abacus ready and keep your wrist limber, because at this rate – yous gots some countin’ to do.

      Reply
    • This is such a ridiculous comment. You’re judging a season’s salary on 4 games? Not to mention, 1.3 goals/game ain’t so bad. Get a clue

      Reply
    • 3 goals, 2 games…. if that average holds (which it wont) it would result in 51 goals in one MLS season, almost double the current record of goals in a season. so are you saying, smarty2shoes, that 6 million is overpaying for that production??? 51 goals in a season in ANY league is worth 6 million……..

      Reply
      • You forgot to consider the fact that Toronto has already played 4 games and will go into a 5th without Defoe this weekend. If his average holds he will score 20 goals in 14 games.

  1. That is a lot of hamstring injuries for one team…. at what point do you wonder whether the source is the training regimen/preparation? I am legitimately asking, not just being an a$$.

    Reply
      • Right, I think he left a Spurs game this season with “tightness” or some such thing.

    • Who else is injured? I only count one hamstring injury on the Sounders: Andy Rose. Brad Evans is dealing with a *calf* injury, which I believe he sustained from a collision.

      Otherwise, the teams with the most hamstring injuries are:

      RSL: 5
      Red Bulls: 4
      TFC: 3
      Chicago: 2

      http://www.mlssoccer.com/injuries

      Reply
      • Slightly nervous about Evans because calves can be as touchy as hamstrings. Look at it funny and it repulls kind of injury if not handled right. I think I reaggravated a calf once stepping off a city curb funny.

      • Evans also has a long history of leg related injuries, he is rarely healthy for the Sounders. Last year was probably his healthiest year honestly

      • Agreed, but Evans has a contusion, not a pull or strain. I can’t remember who he collided with, but it was in the opener against KC.

        I once received a serious calf contusion when a “friend” decided that even though I had already scored a touchdown (American football), it would still be appropriate to jump on top of me. He landed on my calf with his knee; my calf swelled so much that it wouldn’t fit through my pants leg.

        After a few weeks on crutches, I thought I was healed. Halfway up a flight of stairs, however, I felt the scarred wound rip apart and could actually feel my calf filling with blood and fluid. I stayed off it for two months after that!

      • For RBNY, Armando’s injury happened on Montreal’s fake stuff. Did any others happen in Vancouver?

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