TORONTO - The hurt continues for Toronto FC, with defender Zane Monlouis the latest player to be sidelined.

The former England youth international, who left the Arsenal under-23 side to sign with TFC in February, fell awkwardly while trying to make a tackle in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with the visiting New York Red Bulls.

He fell to the ground, clutching his groin area, and had to be helped off the field.

"It's going to be a long-term injury again," Toronto coach Robin Fraser said after training Friday. "Something in the hip, groin area. And these sort of things, they seem to take quite a while.

"With regards to injuries, if we didn't have bad luck, we'd have no luck, it seems like."

Toronto (3-10-5) was missing eight players mid-week, six injured and two on international duty, prompting Fraser to deploy the 21-year-old Monlouis, primarily a centre back, at right back.

The injured were defenders Kobe Franklin, Nicksoen Gomis and Henry Wingo, midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Markus Cimermancic, and winger Federico Bernardeschi. Fullback/wingback Richie Laryea and midfielder Deybi Flores are with Canada and Honduras, respectively, at the Gold Cup.

Gomis is gone for the season after surgery to repair his Achilles tendon, while Wingo was seen on crutches this week.

"It'll be a couple of months, I think," Fraser said when asked about Wingo's possible return.

Bernardeschi, meanwhile, is suffering from a "lingering" lower-body injury.

Fraser did not seem hopeful that any of the walking wounded might be back for Saturday's visit by the Portland Timbers.

"It does feel like a MASH unit at times. We've had incredibly bad luck," he said.

"Injuries are part of the game and it happens. But when you get this number of injuries — and different types and different severities and different durations — it does feel odd. Because there are years when you basically have very few if any (injuries). And those years feel completely normal. You forget about what this feels like when you're having one of those years."

It seems like a while since TFC has had one of those good years. Toronto is winless in its last four games (0-3-1) and winless in five at home (0-4-1).

On the plus side, forward Deandre Kerr saw 14 minutes of action mid-week in Toronto's first game in 25 days. It was his first involvement since suffering a high ankle sprain March 29.

Osorio, who suffered a lower-body injury training with Canada, was seen running with a trainer in the portion of training open to media on Friday.

It seemed to speak volumes that despite all the absences Wednesday, Italian designated player Lorenzo Insigne was glued to the bench. Fraser said later he wanted to give some of his younger players their opportunity — hardly a vote of confidence in a player who is earning US$15.4 million this season.

Portland (8-4-6) arrives in fourth place in the Western Conference. The Timbers had to settle for a 1-1 draw with visiting San Jose on Wednesday after conceding a 94th-minute equalizer. Portland had won two straight before that.

"Collectively, they have a very aggressive mindset when they go forward. They're a difficult team to deal with because of that," said Fraser. "Their athleticism is the sort of thing that bodes really well for this league but they have athletic players who are also talented, skilful." 

Portland manager Phil Neville was quick to praise Toronto.

"I think they're a dangerous team," he said. "You watch their last five or six games, they've been in every single game. They're at the point of the season where they're going to have to go for it. They need points." 

Portland's Jonathan Rodríguez, Ariel Lassiter and Brazil's Anthony are dealing with injuries. The Timbers also have players at the Gold Cup with goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and defender Kamal Miller both with Canada.

It is just the 12th league meeting between the two teams, with Toronto holding a 5-4-2 edge. They last met in 2022 when Toronto won 3-1 at home.

TFC goes into weekend play in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, 11 points and five places below the last playoff position. And after Portland, only five of their remaining 15 games are at home, not that playing at BMO Field has been much of an advantage with only five out of a possible 33 points collected there in 11 outings (1-7-3) this season.

Fraser insists his players see the severity of the situation.

"It's something we talk about consistently. It comes down to does it resonate? And I certainly think it is starting to."

"Now we have to talk about results, as opposed to just improving or just doing the things that we need to do," he added. "We need to talk about results. That's where we are right now … Time is running out and we can't afford to waste opportunities."

Despite the lack of success on the field, Fraser believes in his roster, calling his players honest and hard-working.

"To dig ourselves out of where we are, it's going to take so much work," he said. "It's going to take so much teamwork. But again, I believe in the character of the group."

Toronto has not made the playoffs since 2020, when it stumbled at the first hurdle, beaten by expansion Nashville SC.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025