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.