Liam Ridgewell has suffered a setback in his quest to get back to full health.
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter announced on Monday that Ridgewell is expected to miss another 6-8 weeks after the center back re-injured his quad in training last week. Ridgewell had returned to practice after missing three weeks with an initial quad problem, but aggravated the injury in his first day back and is set for another spell on the sidelines.
"Obviously, when you have your best defender and your captain and a key guy, you would like him on the pitch and in training and around the team all the time," Porter told reporters. "It's not ideal. It does happen, but the re-injuries, that's one that doesn't happen a lot and you have to start to ask some questions. ... These are things we have to evaluate, we have to analyze."
The 32-year-old defender has had multiple injuries prevent him from seeing the field with regularity this year. Ridgewell has played in just nine league games for the Timbers, with his last appearance coming in a June 10 win over FC Dallas.
Portland have seen the injury bug plague their center back corps in 2017, but recently signed Congolese international Larrys Mabiala from Turkish outfit Kayserispor to help alleviate the problem.
Despite having conceded 29 goals in part because of the health problems at the back, the Timbers currently sit in third place in the Western Conference. They will next play host to the Chicago Fire on Wednesday (10:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE).
