Injuries and international absences have depleted Toronto FC's goal, defense and midfield over the past few weeks, but the club still boasted a full regiment of strikers.
Headed into Saturday's match with New England, however, the once-fearsome striking quartet of Edson Buddle, Jeff Cunningham, Danny Dichio and Andrea Lombardo may be reduced to a one-man army.
Buddle was traded last Wednesday to the Los Angeles Galaxy for defender Tyrone Marshall last Wednesday. Lombardo headed for Edmonton after Sunday's 4-0 win against FC Dallas to train with the Canadian under-20 national team. And Dichio is questionable for Saturday with a sprained ankle, though he and the club are relieved the injury is less serious than it first appeared.
Dichio landed awkwardly after jumping to head the ball in the 33rd minute of the Dallas match, and was substituted at the half by Lombardo. X-rays taken after the game and on Monday showed no serious damage to the forward's ankle.
Though Dichio is officially listed as being "50-50" for Saturday's meeting with the Revolution, the striker said he thinks his chances of playing are "really good."
"It feels a lot better today," Dichio said. "We're going to wait until Thursday to try to jog and run on it and then take it from there. I'm hoping to make it for Saturday. [When the injury happened], I thought it was a lot worse, to be fair. I didn't hear anything crack or pop so that's the main thing."
Should Dichio be out of action, the brunt of Toronto's attack will have to be born by Cunningham alone. The MLS veteran said he often played as the sole striker at Real Salt Lake, but he said he prefers a striking partner.
"I played like that at [RSL], and you saw what happened -- they shipped me out," Cunningham joked.
"It's tough up there by yourself," he added. "Every defender in the league knows what my tendencies are. I like to play off the last man, the last defender's shoulder and that's where I get my opportunities. It's tough when there's four of them keying off you. Danny's been a big help for me. He's made my job a lot easier and that's the reason I'm creating a lot of chances."
The partnership of Cunningham and Dichio has certainly been helpful for TFC. The two forwards have combined for six goals and an assist in the four games that Cunningham has played since being dealt to TFC on May 22 from Real Salt Lake.
Cunningham shared Dichio's assurance that the big forward will be playing on Saturday.
"The thought of not playing with Danny hasn't crossed my mind," Cunningham said. "I think he'll be good to go. He's a veteran so I'm sure he knows how to take care of his body."
Toronto coach Mo Johnston also expressed confidence in Dichio's fitness, but like any coach, was taking steps to make sure his squad wouldn't be undermanned. Johnston said he was talking to Canadian soccer officials about getting Lombardo back for Saturday, and also said TFC is "very close" to signing forward Collin Samuel.
"He has [received] five or six offers, but we have the first discovery on him within the league," Johnston said. "We've been talking to the league, talking to Sammy, talking to the agents, but we're hoping we can put pen to paper. It's been a long, drawn-out affair.
Samuel has been training with the team at BMO Field for the past week. The 25-year-old forward played the last four seasons with Dundee United of the Scottish Premier League, scoring 14 goals in 116 appearances. A native of Trinidad & Tobago, Samuel has been capped 22 times by his country, including a start in T&T's opening game of the 2006 World Cup.
Johnston said he has been pursuing Samuel for a number of months, and thus the striker wouldn't be just a quick fix if he were to sign.
"For the five or six days he's trained, he's looked very strong," Johnston said. "He plays numerous positions. He's not just a striker -- he can play on the left, he can play on the right."
For now, though, a forward is all Toronto FC needs.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
