Portland Timbers forward Bright Dike gets past Aztex defender #5 Kieron Bernard to score the Timbers' goal in the first five minutes of the game (August 26, 2010)The excitement surrounding the
' run-up to their first regular season in Major League Soccer turned somber Saturday.
Forward
suffered a torn right Achilles tendon during the Timbers' first preseason game Friday night in Ventura, California. Dike is expected to return to Portland today and is scheduled for surgery Tuesday. He will miss a significant portion of the regular season while rehabilitating the injury.
"You wait two years to start playing in MLS...and this injury happens," Dike said Saturday. "I'm not exactly sure how many months I'll be out. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a fair portion of the season."
Dike suffered the injury during the 20th minute of the game against the Ventura County Fusion, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Dike said he was attempting to trap the ball and heard something snap.
"I didn't do too much. I took a pivot step to trap the ball, and I heard something pop," Dike said. "I wasn't even sprinting after the ball. I just took a pivot step. That's really all I did."
Dike, who scored 10 goals last season, was one of the highlights of the 2010 campaign in Division 2. He was one of the first four players the Timbers signed to MLS contracts in October. His imposing blend of power and speed caused problems for opposition defenses.
"We all feel terrible for Bright," said
, Timbers technical director.
Dike is devastated, he hopes he will be able to return to play before the season ends.
"It's unfortunate and frustrating, because I was really excited for the season to start," Dike said. "I'm just trying to stay positive and hopefully I'll be back to play a couple of games towards the end of the season."
Dike said doctors told him his injury is similar to David Beckham's
in 2010. The Los Angeles Galaxy star suffered a torn Achilles tendon in March while playing on loan with AC Milan. The injury forced Beckham to miss the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but returned to play for the Galaxy in August.
Dike was to see plenty of minutes in a likely backup role to
and
. How this will affect the Timbers at the forward position is the unknown.
"He would have contributed this first part of the season," Wilkinson said.
The Timbers are still waiting for Cooper to arrive (he's expected midweek from Germany) and newcomer Perlaza showed flashes of speed against Ventura. The Timbers also have Doug DeMartin (from the 2010 team) and
- he didn't play Friday, so would likely play against the Los Angeles Galaxy Tuesday - who played with Division-2 Austin Aztex in 2010 _ as the experienced players on the roster.
"I think when you trying to put a good group together, you want to create depth in every position. When you do sustain an injury, you can have someone fill that position quickly," Wilkinson said. "We're still looking at another forward. We do want to carry five, maybe six forwards."
Notes: Defender
suffered a hamstring injury during Friday's game and he returned to Portland today for further evaluation. ...Left back
was held out of the Friday's game while coach John Spencer evaluated other defenders.
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