Eric Hassli #29 of the Vancouver Whitecaps argues with referee Yader Reyes during the game against the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park on March 26, 2011 in Chester, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
Teitur Thordarson will put his juggling skills to the test Saturday afternoon.
The Vancouver Whitecaps coach could make up to five lineup changes as his MLS expansion club hosts Sporting Kansas City at Empire Field - but not by choice. Top striker Eric Hassli will sit out a one-game suspension after taking two yellow cards in a 1-0 loss in Philadelphia last weekend. Meanwhile, Thordarson must also do without a number of other players who are nursing injuries or away playing with their national teams.
"It's not easy," said Thordarson. "We were quite lucky in the pre-season. We went, basically, through the whole pre-season without changing too much. So that early in the season, to go to depth, that was not what I counted on. But I'm confident in the players here."
Both clubs enter the game with identical 1-1 records. The Whitecaps hope to capitalize against a talented K.C. team that is forced to start the campaign with 10 straight road games while its new stadium is under construction.
Thordarson was not tipping his hand on possible replacements after practice Friday. The biggest challenge will be to find sufficient offence in the absence of Hassli, a six-foot-four Frenchman who scored two goals in Vancouver's 4-2 victory over Toronto FC two weeks ago.
Atiba Harris is listed as probable at one striker spot, despite a leg injury suffered in Philadelphia that kept him out of a practice earlier in the week.
"It's always up to the coach," said Harris, a 26-year-old St. Peter's, St. Kitts native who scored the winning goal against Toronto. "But I'm healthy. I'm ready to go."
Brazilian striker Camilo, who in keeping with a tradition in his country goes by one name only, is listed as his probable partner up front in a four-four-two alignment.
Coach Thordarson must also find replacements at midfield for 18-year-old midfield sensation Russell Teibert, who is away playing for Canada's under-20 team, while Swiss veteran Davide Chiumiento's strained hamstring could keep him out of his second straight game.
"Chiumiento is a big question mark," said Thordarson. "He trained more (Friday) than he did (Thursday) and we will consider that when we meet him (Saturday) again for a little test."
There is also major concern at the back. The Caps' field boss said captain Jay DeMerit was "questionable" after the 31-year-old Green Bay, Wis., native aggravated a recurring groin while playing a friendly for the U.S. national team against Paraguay on Tuesday.
"It's a 31-year-old nag - that's for sure," said DeMerit.
According to the player and coach, DeMerit's status is a game-time decision. The central defender, who acts as his team's quarterback on the back line while barking out instructions, does not want to rush back too early after suffering the injury in his second game in four days with the U.S. national squad.
"You've gotta make sense of all that's going on, all the factors that come into this," said DeMerit. "Also, it's about not being overly aggressive in the beginning. There are so many games to play the season is just getting going, and there's a lot of guys around that can come in and do a job."
Fellow defender Michael Boxall is also questionable after becoming ill due to sickness or food poisoning while playing for his native New Zealand against China last weekend.
On a positive note, goalkeeper Jay Nolly a Whitecaps holdover from their former league, is available to play if called upon. He missed the game in Philly due to a shoulder injury suffered in practice.
"It feels good," said Nolly, who jammed his shoulder into the turf after a fall. "I've been working hard to get everything back ... I feel like I'm ready to go."
Thordarson all but confirmed that Nolly will get the call. Joe Cannon took Nolly's place last weekend in his first game since suffering a broken ankle in August.
"(Cannon) is coming off a very difficult injury and he's been fantastic all the way through and working really hard," said Thordarson. "He is still not at his best. We know that and he knows that."
If Nolly does get the nod, he will have one less threat to worry about. Kansas City's top scorer Omar Bravo will sit out after receiving a red card in the first half of his team's 3-2 loss to Chicago last Saturday. Bravo has two goals to his credit already and was named the league's inaugural player of the week.
"It's an advantage for us to not have him on the field," said DeMerit, who has faced the Mexican star numerous times in international play.
"He's one of the better players, obviously, coming from Guadalajara (his former club)," added Nolly. "He's a crafty player on free kicks, set pieces and from the run of play. So he'll be missed for Kansas City just as much as (Hassli) will be missed for us."
NOTES: Speaking in French in an interview, Hassli said he was saddened by the suspension, has learned a lesson, and will "never again" make the same mistake ... Whitecaps defender Jonny Leathers is expected to suit up against his former K.C. teammates. "It's going to be a lot of fun," said Leathers, who was claimed by Vancouver in the November expansion draft. "I've been looking forward to it for a month now" ... Whitecaps midfielder Michael Nanchoff (groin) will miss his third straight game ... Kansas City defender Julio Cesar, a former star with Real Madrid and AC Milan and several other European clubs, is questionable due to a leg laceration.