Portland Timbers Training Notes and Quotes: Day Four

Sorry this is late and not terribly long folks. I was a little under the weather yesterday. -Will

The Portland Timbers' continued their first week of training in 2014 at Jeld-Wen Field yesterday, continuing to evaluate the new arrivals to the team and mix up their line-ups. The day's training was an abbreviated one after the long sessions of the first three days.

Trialists and Guest Players

Richie Menjivar remained on trial with the Timbers and practiced primarily with the group of unsigned draftees yesterday.

Goalkeepers Justin Luthy and "Helmuth Tosh" also were still on trial with the team yesterday as the Porter continues to look for a young fourth keeper to fill out the roster.

Update: "Helmuth Tosh" is actually Joel Helmick, formerly of Longwood University and a 2012 Supplemental Draft pick of the Colorado Rapids.

Injuries and Absences

Michael Harrington continued his time with the USMNT team in their January camp yesterday. Harrington has made his way into the final 22-man roster that will be available for Saturday's match against Korea. Harrington and Sporting Kansas City's Matt Besler are the only remaining left backs in camp.

Steven Evans, Rodney Wallace, Diego Valeri, and Steve Zakuani were all absent from the training pitch yesterday. None of the players in that group have taken part in the full team training yet as they are all recovering from off-season surgeries, although Zakuani and Valeri did do some on field workouts with a trainer during Monday's practice.

Practice Notes

• Donovan Ricketts had a scare at practice, slipping and going down during a short field game. Ricketts came off and spent some time walking back and forth with the trainer before heading indoors for the remainder of practice.
• Maximiliano Urruti has been one of the sharpest performers in training so far. In each drill or game he found ways to influence the play with spot on finishes and passes that opened up the defense.
• Gaston Fernandez and Norberto Paparatto both looked lost at times at the start of some of the team's passing and possession drills, but quickly acclimated once the drills were actually underway. After practice, both players spoke to the press through a translator. Fernandez, like Valeri after his arrival last year, joked that he would hopefully be giving his interviews in English several months from now.