BEAVERTON, Ore. – Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said he wanted to be cautious about integrating newly signed defender Pa Modou Kah into the first-team rotation.
That timetable was put into fast forward when Mamadou “Futty” Danso was shown red late in Portland’s 2-2 draw last weekend in Vancouver. Porter said after training this week at the team’s training facility that Kah will “likely” start in Saturday’s game at D.C. United (4pm PT, ROOT SPORTS, 750 AM The Game / La Pantera 940) as Danso sits out with the league-mandated suspension.
“We wanted to be smart this week in bringing him along the right way and getting him acclimated to the group and also getting his legs underneath him,” Porter said. “With a good week of training, he should be ready to go.”
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Kah, who joined the team just last week, was signed to counter a rash of injuries to the center back position. David Horst and Mikael Silvestre are both likely out for the remainder of the season with injuries. And the Timbers cut ties with Colombian Hanyer Mosquera after he returned to his native country less than a month into the season.
Kah, a former Norwegian international who most recently played in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, played 45 minutes in the Timbers’ 1-1 draw with Vancouver in Reserve League play on Sunday.
“He looked good, looked sharp,” Porter said.
The Timbers this week also signed center back Rauwshan McKenzie, who had been on trial with the team on two occasions this season, and waived defender Ryan Kawulok, a former Timbers U-23 product.
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
