I'm sure there'll be a proper article about this, but according to NASN Portland, both Chara and Ricketts will be out for two weeks with injuries from Saturday's match. Chara suffered a groin injury that left the Timbers with 10 men for the last ten minutes or so of the Cascadia Cup clash, and Ricketts had to leave the game after a collision in the air with Eddie Johnson. Ricketts reportedly suffered a "grade 1 separated shoulder" and will also miss the next two weeks.

To make matters worse, Gleeson is having an MRI on his hand after getting stomped on during yesterday's reserve match, potentially leaving us with Bendik and a pool keeper during the next two weeks, which are among the busiest for the squad.

As with all injuries, however, this does give us a chance to see what some of the other squad folks can bring in terms of stepping up. My guess would be Alexander or Alhassan (who played excellently in the CM position in the reserve match) will get a chance to step into Chara's boots on Wednesday, and we'll get a few games to see how Bendik can do with proper reps and preparation to be #1, not be shoved into the burning cauldron that was a tense Cascadia Cup match.

Thoughts? Concerns? It'll be interesting to see how we look with a slightly different midfield and organization from the back. Do you think this opens the door for more changes on Wednesday when we play San Jose (such as Kawulok at right back)?