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Training today saw the Timbers start out with their usual warm up routine and a series of passing drills before practice was closed.
A number of players stuck around to work individually after the press was let back on the pitch. Michael Harrington, Steven Evans, Ryan Miller, and Ryan Kawulok all practiced their crosses with Will Johnson distributing the ball out wide to them. Interestingly, Evans was working on his crosses from the left alongside Harrington.
After the senior players headed inside, the Timbers young players stayed out on the pitch to work on their one on one defending under the watchful eye of Sean McAuley, Cameron Knowles, and Amos Magee. Kawulok and Dylan Tucker-Gangnes defended while Evans, Jose Adolfo Valencia, Sebastian Rincon, and Mobi Fehr ran at them with the ball, trying to get a shot off. McAuley emphasized positioning and early, high pressure to the defenders.
Trialists and Guest Players
The Timbers' Trialists remained unchanged as Deon McCauley, Calum Angus, Andre Clennon, Michael Nanchoff, Chris Hegngi, and David Meves continued practicing with the team. Hegngi and Meves are Supplemental Draft picks whose rights are controlled by the Timbers, while McCauley, Angus, and Clennon are all free agents.
Injuries and Absences
Jake Gleeson made his return to practicing with the team today after recovering from some soreness in his lower back. Gleeson did some work out on the pitch with John Cone and Mike Toshack after practice yesterday, but did not participate in the team's training session.
Jack Jewsbury, David Horst, Futty Danso, and Chris Taylor all remained out of practice today with injuries sustained while training in Arizona.
According to remarks made by Caleb Porter on Wednesday, Jewsbury could be out for several weeks with a groin strain. Taylor is also looking at several weeks of recovery time after straining his MCL. Futty, held out thanks to a sore hamstring, and Horst, who suffered a groin strain in Tucson, are both close to returning to practice, but the team is not taking any chances with them in the preseason.
-Sorry for the sparsity of quotes in the training reports for the last couple of days, but I don't have much turnaround between practice and work. I will try to get back to including more quotes soon.