Not an injury. Not a flu. It’s an eligibility issue that’s keeping Simpson off the field. And for Canadian soccer fans, it’s a scary proposition.

Director of Soccer Operations Joe Petrone said Thursday that FC Edmonton’s training camp roster is very nearly full — and that there are at max four more spots that can be handed out to hopefuls.

The Montreal Impact has already lost one player to an injury suffered in a preseason match. Impact fans are hoping that the number doesn’t rise to two.

Simpson has been curiously absent since signing with the Swiss side during the January transfer window. Since his signing, BSC has played three friendlies —— against Dinamo Kyiv, Ekranas and Dinamo Tiflis — and one league match (a win this pas weekend over Servette), and Simpson hasn't featured in any of them.

Six Canada-eligible players will head to Fort Lauderdale this weekend, trying to land jobs with FC Edmonton or one of the other seven NASL teams.

“I’m a firm believer in that and we will have a blueprint in terms of coaching methodology in terms of playing style and good part for me, I’m a teacher by trade so it’s going to be my first experience.”

Still celebrating his renegotiated contract with the Whitecaps, Camilo scored Vancouver’s first goal of the preseason just 35 seconds into the new campaign.

After being outscored by a cumulative score of 24-1 over its three round-robin losses, Sherbrooke faced Ecuador’s La Bombonerita in the third-place game. The Ecuadoreans took the match by a 7-6 score.

What this column won't do is make an attack on Toronto itself. It's counterproductive. It's simple. Coach Stephen Hart was given final say on the venues for the qualifiers, and he went with Toronto. It's his decision. So, Hart's Toronto call should be judged just as fans judge a correct or incorrect roster selection or tactical decision.

In two matches at the FIFRA world club championships, the University of Sherbrooke Vert & Or have yet to score, and have surrendered, cough, 19 goals.