Both the Portland Timbers and Houston Dynamo were hit by injuries to key defenders in the run-up to Sunday's Western Conference Semifinal Leg 2 clash at Providence Park, with Roy Miller and DaMarcus Beasley ruled out for the game.
The Timbers' Miller suffered a ruptured Achilles and now faces a lengthy recovery period of as much as a year, while his already-shorthanded team finds itself even further depleted.
Beasley, meanwhile, strained his right quadriceps in Houston's final pregame practice, a muscular issue that, depending on severity, could allow him to return later in the postseason should the Dynamo advance.