It appears Portland Timbers defender Larrys Mabiala may win a race against time to gain full fitness ahead of Saturday’s MLS Cup (8 pm ET | FOX, UniMás, TSN, TVAS) against Atlanta United.
The French-born central defender, who started 31 games in the regular season and another three in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, suffered an ankle injury in the first leg of the Western Conference Championship against Sporting Kansas City.
The veteran was replaced by Bill Tuiloma, who started the second leg alongside Liam Ridgewell last Thursday.
According to Jamie Goldberg of The Oregonian, Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said Mabiala participated in nearly all of the club’s drills at Tuesday’s training and was expected to train fully on Wednesday.
“He’s in a good spot,” Savarese said. “He practiced almost full today. He’ll practice full tomorrow. So, it’s looking pretty good.”
