Portland Timbers Training Quotes and Notes: Quick Turnaround

With just three days in between their unfortunate 1-0 loss in Toronto and Wednesday's upcoming home match against D.C. United, the Portland Timbers got back to training today, putting in a short, closed session out on the pitch at their Beaverton training facility.

Opening practice to the press as the team was stretching at the end of their session, only a few players remained on the pitch for more than a moment, with the majority heading indoors, likely to work on a combination of recovery exercises from the weekend and preparation for tomorrow.

Jack Jewsbury and Nat Borchers were among the stragglers, first passing the ball back and forth, then taking some long shots on goal before heading inside. Michael Nanchoff and Jake Gleeson also remained out on the pitch for a time, with Gleeson in goal and Nanchoff shooting on him.

Will Johnson headed indoors with the rest of the team. The Timbers' captain made the first team 18 for the first time in 2015 against Toronto FC, but did not make the pitch after the Timbers went down a goal early and lost Diego Valeri to injury. According to Caleb Porter, Johnson could play in tomorrow's match, but the Timbers' coach would not confirm that he would make an appearance. What Porter did say with certainty is that Johnson will either play in the match against D.C. or in Saturday's match against the Colorado Rapids, but not both.

Injuries and Absences

Not on hand for today's training session was Diego Valeri who, as mentioned above, went out injured against TFC. Porter reaffirmed that Valeri is suffering from a sprained ankle and would miss tomorrow's match and likely Saturday's as well. Beyond that, Porter was unable to say when Valeri would be back, only saying that Valeri has a very positive attitude and that he hopes to be able to play next week.

Schillo Tshuma, who has been absent from first team and T2 training recently, was on hand at practice today, working with Nick Milonas and taking shots on goal as the rest of the team stretched. Porter confirmed that Tshuma has been out for two and a half weeks with an injury, but that he is nearing a return.

Trialists and Guest Players

Danny O'Rourke was not on hand at today's training session. O'Rourke, who is signed to T2 but has yet to play a match with the team, traveled with T2 today as the team heads north ahead of tomorrow's U.S. Open Cup match against Seattle Sounders 2.