TFC's Ruiz Needs MRI

Did the Los Angeles Galaxy sell damaged goods to Toronto FC? That's how it is starting to look as the Canadian club revealed that striker Carlos Ruiz has been hobbled by a recurring knee injury and will undergo an MRI to reveal the complete extent of the damage. The Guatemalan forward missed a day of training last week in order to get the troublesome knee drained, and was held out of practice again on Tuesday, prompting the need for further evaluation.
Ruiz first suffered the injury while playing for the Galaxy in their season-opener, the victim of a reckless challenge from behind by the Colorado Rapids' Ciaran O'Brien. After being diagnosed with a torn medial meniscus, Ruiz missed several months of action trying to get back to health, only to find that Edson Buddle had emerged as that other offensive weapon in his place. Playing a few minutes here and there over the summer, Ruiz was perceived to be healthy enough to trade for, in Toronto's opinion, and has even started in three games for his new club despite apparently being hampered by a bum knee.

"Sometimes my knee is good, but other days it isn't," said Ruiz. "In my first game with L.A. this season, I got injured and was out for two months. My recovery was good, but since I have come here and also when I was playing with the national team, I have been feeling something wrong with my knee. This is a recurring problem. I know my body and I know when something is wrong. I just need to find out what the problem is."

Head coach John Carver expressed concern over Ruiz's status for this weekend's home game against the Houston Dynamo and disappointment over not knowing the full extent of the situation when he opted to start the injured forward in last weekend's 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Wizards.

"I don't think Carlos will be right [for Saturday]," said Carver. "I've only just found out that he had a slight niggle before the game last weekend. He has been trying to play even though his knee is not right."