cornerback Donovan Alexander may be ready t

TORONTO - Injuries, a crowded schedule and a fired-up opponent lying in wait. You couldnt fault Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen for cringing at the prospect of a hot, humid summer night in Houston. But Nelsen is looking forward to seeing his revamped lineup stand up and be counted in Saturdays MLS rematch with the Dynamo. Nelsen will be counting on 21-year-old defenders Doneil Henry and Nick Hagglund. Henry, who made his league debut in 2010, is a gifted athlete who is raw and still prone to mistakes. But his upside is immense and some see him as a future captain of Canada. Hagglund is a likable, athletic rookie who seems comfortable on any stage. Fearless is one adjective applied to him. "Its kind of exciting, to tell you the truth, to watch these guys playing and watch these guys progress," Nelsen said after training Friday. "Its fun watching these guys, especially like Nick and Doneil, progress as players and as humans." Thanks to a tour de force performance from England striker Jermain Defoe, Toronto (7-5-4) rallied from two goals down last Saturday to defeat Houston 4-2 at BMO Field. The Dynamo (5-11-3) have had all week to plan their revenge while Toronto, which has twice as many games this month as Houston, had a midweek encounter with the visiting Whitecaps. That 1-1 tie left its mark, with Nelsen revealing the bleak injury prognosis Friday before flying to Texas. Fullback Mark Bloom, who has started all 16 games this season, is out four to six weeks with a medial collateral ligament sprain. Brazilian winger Jackson will be out 10 to 14 days with a knock to the Achilles. They join captain Steven Caldwell on the sidelines. The Scottish centre back tore his quad in the win over Houston last weekend and is expected to be out for a month. Veteran Bradley Orr, a useful jack of all trades this season, replaced Caldwell against Vancouver and is expected to line up alongside Henry again Saturday. Hagglund, normally a centre back, will start for Bloom. "Im going to try and do my best Mark Bloom impression when Im on the field," said Hagglund. Dominic Oduro could join Canadian Jonathan Osorio and the central tandem of Michael Bradley and Collen Warner in midfield. Toronto will be hard-pressed if another defender goes down. Jackson would have been one of the candidates to replace Bloom if healthy. Nelsen only has fullback Ashton Morgan in reserve. Starting left fullback Justin Morrow can play centre back in a pinch. Fullback Ryan Richter, currently on loan to Ottawa Fury FC, could be recalled next week for cover. Injury issues aside, Nelsen anticipates a rough reception in Houston. "I expect a very motivated, bordering on vicious to tell you the truth, Houston team," said Nelsen. "They have to win, they have to win in front of their fans. They have to win to get their season (going). "Theyve had injuries. Thats what theyve kind of hung their hat on, that it hasnt been a successful season (as a result). Now everybodys fit. Its a make-or-break game. We understand that. We cant match that, we have to better it." Veteran midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who spent three seasons in Houston, also expects a spirited response from the Dynamo. "If theres one thing that I know, its that Dominic (manager Dominic Kinnear) is very good at is turning the team around," he said. "Definitely I think youre going to see a much more physical, much hungrier, more tenacious team come (Saturday)." Added Hagglund: "Its gut-check time." The good news for Toronto is that it stands third in the Eastern Conference with two or three games in hand on each of the four teams around it. And it has lost just one of its last nine games (a 4-1-4 run). Houston is winless in seven games, a stretch that has seen the Dynamo outscored 19-4. Houstons last league win was May 17 against Columbus. The Dynamo, however, are returning to full strength after the World Cup and injuries, Left back Corey Ashe (knee) may be the latest to come back. Midfielders Brad Davis and Boniek Garcia (both at the World Cup) and defenders David Horst (groin) and Jermaine Taylor (hip contusion) have also returned to the lineup. Houston is looking to erase memories of the wasteful Toronto loss. “Theres obviously a bad taste in our mouths from the way things went,” goalkeeper Tally Hall told reporters in Houston. NOTES: Defoe is one yellow card away from a suspension ... Midfielder Jeremy Hall has been loaned to Wilmington to get some playing time. Hell be back early next week ... Torontos busy spell continues next week with a friendly Wednesday against Defoes old team, Tottenham, and a weekend date with Sporting Kansas City. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Air Max 270 Light Bone Hot Punch . The 90-plus minutes of play are about trends and approach. Vapormax Moc 2 Pas Cher . Louis Blues, having added Ryan Miller and Steve Ott from Buffalo, remain the No. http://www.airmax270flyknit.fr/ . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. Air Max 270 Flyknit Femme Pas Cher . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. Nike Air VaporMax Inneva Blanc Sommet/Bleu Glacier AO2447-100 Pour Homme . Especially after he got ejected. "How many innings was that?" he wondered.Drew Willy may have been named the CFL Offensive Player of the Week following his clubs 45-21 victory over the Toronto Argonauts, but the quarterback got strong support from both his offensive line and another eye-opening surprise in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offence. Nic Grigsby was superb in his CFL debut in Week 1, and the 25-year-old feels hes just getting started. "As the game went on my game started to come back," said Grigsby, who ran for 122 yards on 21 carries and added a pair of catches for 17. "It got a little slower. I still got a lot of stuff to get better on — just some little things and detail that coaches got on me about to be a better player and have a better game." The Bombers O-line opened up some wide lanes in the run game against the Argos. Winnipegs young tailback has history with one lineman in particular, who pulled from the right tackle spot to be the lead blocker on a couple big Grigsby gains up the middle. "Me and (Dan) Knapp, we went a long way (back)," said the University of Arizona product of his new favourite blocker. "We played against each other in college. He went to Arizona State, my rival, so when we got here in camp we bumped heads a little bit — not bumped heads — but just, you know, the rivalry-type stuff. But now were on the same team. Were in the same boat, and hes pulling for me and everything. I love them guys up front." The head coach isnt taken aback by Grigsbys impressive debut in the slightest. "Nope, didnt surprise me. Hes been steadily getting better all the way through camp," said Mike OShea. "My concern maybe early on was, he might not have taken advantage of every hole that was there, and now hes through it. It was just a matter of him getting comfortable with his vision, with his reads, and the CFL field — the size of it, I think. But hes done well." OShea is enamoured by Grigsbys ability to adapt and pick things up quickly. That goes double when youre protecting a lead late in the game. "One of the things thats impressive is, when were running that last three minutes and we have the ball and youre asking a guy to stay in bounds and slide, you know? For years and years and years American tailbacks come up here, they get in their first game and run out of bounds when we want that clock to run. You tell them and they still do it. But right away, I tell (Grigsby) once, he was sliding in bounds all the time making sure that clock kept running. Obviously hes an intelligent football player and took that instruction, basically in a three-second conversation, and applied it." With running back Will Ford still working to get back into game shape after a hamstring pull, and Paris Cotton out for a few weeks with a knee injury (hes been wearing a heavy brace in light on-ffield workouts during practice), Grigsbys fight to stay healthy enough to play has also impressed the coaching staff.dddddddddddd "Its as good as its going to get right now," scoffed Grigsby playfully. "Everybody is banged-up and bruised. Nobodys at 100 per cent, I dont care who you are, (even) if youre a quarterback. Its day-to-day of getting better. Get your body in the cold tub, getting the therapy, and come ready to play. "You know youve got to be durable in this league. Its all about growing and depending on yourself to actually do the extra little things thats going to keep you on the field." This week sees another challenge, in that the Blue Bombers will try to prepare for their Week 2 opponent — the expansion Ottawa Redblacks — having minimal game film to study. Ottawa had a bye in Week 1. "Were going out there blind to the eye other than what the base preseason games are. And a lot of teams keep preseason really base," said Grigsby of the "vanilla" offence the Redblacks have shown. "Our coaching staff did a great job putting (video) cut-ups of the (Redblacks) coaches that they have now and what they did in the past, so were going to use that to our ability. Come game time there is that adjust-on-the-fly and be ready to go." NOTES: Eleven-year CFL veteran Korey Banks asked the team for his release this week after not securing a job in the teams starting lineup. The club has placed him on the suspended list indefinitely and flown him home to Atlanta... Mike OShea says he doesnt want to tinker too much with a lineup that looked pretty solid in Week 1. National cornerback Donovan Alexander may be ready to return following a calf injury, but Matt Bucknor will continue to start at field corner... Tailback Will Ford (hamstring) may be ready to go as well after missing both preseason games, but Nic Grigsby will start with the ball... Defensive backs Alex Suber (hamstring) and Marty Markett (high-ankle sprain) both still need time to recover and are again out this week... Slotback Cory Watson suffered a hamstring injury in the first half Thursday night and didnt return to the game. The 30-year-old will miss a week, at least, and it appears fellow national receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino, who hauled in a touchdown pass in Watsons second half absence, will start in his place... Defensive tackle Zach Anderson has missed some significant practice time this week with a heel contusion. OShea says he should be ready for the game... Another defensive tackle, Bryant Turner, has been excused from practice this week for the birth of his daughter. The 2013 Eastern All-Star is expected to play against Ottawa. If either Turner or Anderson are unable to go Thursday night, Kashawn Fraser is an option to come off the practice roster and dress. ' ' '