Knocks to Ruiz, Mina leave FCD with three healthy forwards
12:40 AM CDT on Saturday, July 15, 2006
FRISCO – Just when FC Dallas regained its scoring touch, the team is running out of scorers. Last week's 2-1 win over New York snapped a three-game scoreless streak, but leading scorer Carlos Ruiz (eight goals, five assists) went off with a strained hamstring. The week before, FC Dallas lost forward Roberto Mina to a knee injury. Ruiz is expected to be out three weeks; Mina is out six to 10 weeks after surgery Wednesday. That leaves FC Dallas with three healthy forwards for today's game at Chicago. Of those three, only Kenny Cooper (six goals, one assist) has been a mainstay. Abe Thompson has appeared in just two games this season and is coming back from a stress fracture in his left foot. Dominic Oduro has appeared in four games and scored his first MLS goal last weekend. "It's a rough stretch, but we've always talked about our depth," FC Dallas coach Colin Clarke said. "We'll get it tested in the next few weeks." Clarke said a midfielder such as Arturo Alvarez or Ramon Nunez could play the role of a withdrawn forward, if needed, but he will take a wait-and-see attitude before looking to add anyone to the roster. If Ruiz returns on time, Clarke said there may not be a need for changes. "I've got full confidence in the boys we've got," Clarke said. "Dominic's come along well. Kenny's been scoring goals. Abe's coming back well. We've got good options." O'Brien may miss game with hamstring injury: Forward isn't the only position hit by the injury bug. Midfielder Ronnie O'Brien missed several days of training this week after tweaking a hamstring. O'Brien said the hamstring had been sore for some time, but it flared up during warmups against New York. He said after Thursday's practice that he didn't expect to travel to Chicago, but Clarke wasn't ready to make a decision. No All-Stars, no problem: FC Dallas players said it was disappointing not to see any teammates among the "First XI" named for the MLS All-Star Game, but they won't lose any sleep over it. FC Dallas leads the Western Conference but will have to wait until Monday to see if any players are selected to fill out the roster. D.C. United and All-Star coach Peter Nowak will select five additional players, and MLS commissioner Don Garber gets two picks. The MLS All-Stars face Chelsea FC of England on Aug. 5 at the Chicago Fire's Toyota Park. "I could care less whether we have anyone going there," defender Greg Vanney said, "as long as we're playing here at the end of the year." Pizza Hut Park hosts the MLS Cup on Nov. 12. Briefly: FC Dallas will play the Charleston Battery in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Aug. 2 in Charleston, S.C. ... Fans can apply for tickets to the MLS Cup by filling out an application at www.mlsnet.com. • FC Dallas is down to three healthy forwards. • No FC Dallas players were selected to start for the MLS All-Star Game against Chelsea FC. • FC Dallas has two more wins (nine) than any other MLS team besides D.C. United (12). • Today's game starts a stretch of six games in 19 days for FC Dallas. Depth will be critical. • FC Dallas beat Chicago, 3-2, in the season opener. • Chicago is coming off two losses in row. E-mail kwhitmire@dallasnews.com FC Dallas (9-5-3) at Chicago Fire (5-6-5), 3 p.m. Saturday, Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Ill. (ESPN2; KXEB-AM 910; KTNO-AM 1440 in Spanish)