Mikael Uhre not traveling to Portland

Philadelphia Union striker Mikael Uhre will not be traveling to Portland for Sunday’s game against the Timbers, head coach Jim Curtin confirmed Friday.

Uhre hasn’t played since he scored his first goal in a Union uniform on May 1 in Nashville. The Union has scored four goals in their past four games in all competitions in his absence.

Curtin said Uhre trained to the side with the team on Friday but isn’t quite ready for his return. The injury has been described as soreness in his quad.

“The MRI comes back clean so there’s no real drastic injury or an obvious injury that will show up on the MRI,” Curtin said. “He knows his body better than anyone and it doesn’t feel right to him.”

Curtin said they are hopeful to have him back in the team next week for another away match at New England Revolution.

The highest paid player on the roster, Uhre’s first season with the Union hasn’t gone according to plan. He’s played in just half of the team’s league games so far but the fact that the team remains in first place in the Eastern Conference without him is a good sign.

“We’re working hard to get him back and he’s working hard to get back as quickly as possible,” Curtin said. “But we also have to be smart with that. We have 22 games left; a lot of soccer to play and then the playoffs.”