BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Chicago Fire captain Logan Pause will likely miss Wednesday's US Open Cup quarterfinal game against Orlando City (8:30 pm ET, live chat on MLSsoccer.com) after suffering a back injury on Saturday against the Columbus Crew.
Joel Lindpere and Dilly Duka, though, look like they'll be ready for action after picking up knocks against the Crew.
“Logan is going to be difficult,” coach Frank Klopas said. "I think Joel is doing better, you saw him out there training today. For him, it's a matter of loosening up his leg, for Logan it's going to be a little more difficult."
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Pause said his back "didn't feel right" after picking up a non-contact injury on Saturday. With Chicago off this weekend, Pause may be ready to play on July 3 when the Fire host San Jose.
But after missing the first four games of the season with an injury, he's being cautious.
"I've been down this road in a much worse fashion early in the year," Pause told MLSsoccer.com. "I just want to make sure it's taken care of so it doesn't linger."
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Lindpere, meanwhile, picked up a knock to the back of his leg late in Saturday's game and is improving. Duka went down late holding his ankle, but Klopas said the midfielder is fine.
Klopas has rotated his midfielders over the last few games, playing some combination of Duka, Lindpere, and Patrick Nyarko on the outside and Pause, Alex, Jeff Larentowicz and Daniel Paladini in the middle. The relatively surefire starters for Saturday are Nyarko and Larentowicz, who didn't start on Saturday.
"I think it's helpful for the team," Pause said. "Having guys who can empty the tank and then have full tanks is a plus. Jeff and I continue to push each other along with the other guys to continue to make each other better every day and to make our team better. I think that the group has gotten in a good cycle of using the bodies that we have."
