BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – A few lineup notes ahead of the Chicago Fire’s Tuesday night match against Kansas City at Toyota Park:
Johnson out, Dykstra in
Regular goalkeeper Sean Johnson will miss his second consecutive match due to hyphema. The rookie, who took a close-range shot to the face in last Tuesday’s training session, was not on the roster for last Friday’s 2-0 win over Columbus.
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Andrew Dykstra will make his second consecutive start in Johnson’s place. The second-year 'keeper – who started the Fire’s first 14 games – made three saves to keep the clean sheet Friday night.
Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos hinted Monday that Johnson could be ready in time for Saturday’s home finale against D.C. United.
Moving forward
Designated Player Nery Castillo will not start Tuesday’s match but will be available for use off the bench.
The Mexican forward, who has struggled with injuries and fitness since joining the Fire in mid-July and hasn’t played since Sept. 18, has yet to register a goal or assist in a Fire uniform.
The Fire’s other DP, Freddie Ljungberg, will start on Tuesday.
He’ll begin the match in his familiar supporting striker role, accompanying either Brian McBride or Collins John up top.
Pappa on international duty
Winger Marco Pappa will miss Tuesday’s match while on international duty with his native Guatemala.
Midfield woes
Midfielders John Thorrington and Patrick Nyarko aren’t listed on the league injury report, but both could be out of action Tuesday night.
Nyarko, who started on Friday and assisted on both of the Fire’s goals, is hampered by an ankle injury that has been bothering him all year. He participated in part of training on Monday.
Thorrington, who has only played in five games this year due to injury, is dealing with problems in his quad and didn’t train Monday.
Another midfielder, Mike Banner, is being ruled out of Tuesday’s match. Banner, who was unavailable on Friday, is dealing with what he called general “wear and tear” in both of his Achilles tendons.
With so many midfielders out of action, de los Cobos indicated that rookie midfielder Corben Bone could have his fourth appearance of the season against Kansas City.
Starting back four
De los Cobos told MLSsoccer.com Monday that he plans on starting Bratislav Ristic, C.J. Brown, Kwame Watson-Siriboe and Krzysztof Krol in defense Tuesday night.
Ristic, who played left back in the win over Columbus, will start at right back in place of Steven Kinney, who will miss the match with an ankle injury.
Krol, a late scratch from the starting lineup against the Crew, starts ahead of Gonzalo Segares, who is dealing with a nagging quad injury.
Despite the fact that Wilman Conde returned from suspension and is healthy, it’s Watson-Siriboe who will replace Dasan Robinson as starting center back. Robinson was subbed off in the 15th minute of Friday’s win due to an injured hamstring.
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samstejskal.
