Toronto FC striker Danny Dichio is expected to start Saturday's game against Houston Dynamo at BMO Field (kick off 3:30 p.m. live on CBC). Dichio has been suffering with concussion but has now fully recovered and is set to replace the injured Carlos Ruiz.
"He's ready to come in and he will start the game on Saturday," said coach John Carver. "I think it's a lift for everybody. We all know the fans love him so it will be a lift for them. He gives us a different dimension going forward and hopefully it will spur us on."
Ruiz is likely to miss the game with a knee injury. "I'm almost certain he won't be available," said Carver. "He won't play again until he is fully fit. He had an MRI and the result was quite good. There is no serious damage, his kneecap has just shifted slightly and he just needs to align it again. He can do that by strengthening his quad muscle. Sometimes after you have had an operation, you don't build your knee back up properly, and I think he probably came back too early after a previous injury. The medical staff will work with him and he will do fitness work. It's not a big issue and hopefully we will have him back before the end of the season."
Defender Julius James missed training on Thursday with a hamstring injury. "He picked up an injury in training on Tuesday but hopefully he will be able to be back on the pitch tomorrow and then he can be involved on Saturday in some capacity," said Carver.
