COMMERCE CITY — The Colorado Rapids didn’t expect to have goalkeeper Tim Howard back in time for their season opener Saturday against New England but Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni said that the 37-year-old goalkeeper’s rehab pace slowed recently.

“He was having some pain last week,” Mastroeni said. “The medical staff, we decided to allow that to heal. Had an MRI, everything looks like it’s intact, it’s good…With Tim, we’ll take it one day at a time.”

Howard had surgery in November to repair a fractured adductor longus, a muscle that tore from his pelvis, in the United States’ World Cup qualifying game against Mexico on Nov. 11. He had been targeting a March 8 return to full training.

Goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who led MLS in goals-against average last season, will start in his place.

Gashi’s Achilles. It’s been a stop-start preseason for the Rapids’ reigning Golden Boot winner Shkëlzen Gashi as he deals with inflammation in his Achilles.

“Gashi’s been struggling with his Achilles from day one, with the turf,” Mastroeni said. “And what’s happened is, his appearances in training have been intermittent, so he hasn’t been able to both fully recover or strengthen the Achilles, and/or get to the level of fitness that won’t put him in a position to where he hurts it again.”

Gashi, who scored nine goals during the regular season and one in the playoffs, this week sat down with the Rapids medical staff, a doctor from UCHealth and a sports performance expert to lay out a plan for his Achilles treatment, Mastroeni said.

“It’s a real fickle situation,” Mastroeni said. “The last thing I want to do is put Gashi in a position early on in the season where we lose him for the whole year with a torn Achilles, or god forbid something like that. … We’re just kind of babying him at the moment. Obviously he’s antsy, he’s dying to be in there with the group full time.”

The 28-year-old Albanian international played 45 minutes in a preseason match on Feb. 18, but skipped the Rapids’ final two preseason tilts.

“It was not so easy for me, the preseason,” Gashi said. “Sometimes I trained with the team and then I was out, and I make the treatment with the guys and everything. But now I feel very good. I had a good test today and we are on the good way.”

It was unclear if he would be available Saturday.

“Gordo” a go. Rapids newly-signed striker Alan Gordon, who is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, is ahead of schedule and said he was available for selection in the season opener despite not appearing in a preseason match. Whether the 35-year-old U.S. international will play primarily as a starter or off the bench this season remains in question.

“I’m really open minded to see how we can utilize him,” Mastroeni said. Related Articles March 1, 2017 Soccer podcast: Rapids season preview 2017

February 27, 2017 Rapids add former provocateur to their cause with signing of Alan Gordon, a rugged instigator at striker

February 24, 2017 Rapids have roster flexibility heading into final preseason match

February 23, 2017 Soccer podcast: Rapids 2017 preseason primer

February 20, 2017 Conor Casey: Return to Rapids as assistant coach “couldn’t have been a better scenario”

Footnotes. The Rapids parted ways this week with second round 2017 SuperDraft pick Liam Callahan. Rapids sporting director Pádraig Smith said while the team liked the fullback’s character, mentality and delivery from the left side, they felt he still had work to do defensively before he was MLS ready. … First-round pick Sam Hamilton, a midfielder from the University of Denver, and third-round pick Jaime Siaj, a striker from Madrid, Spain, remain unsigned but in camp with the Rapids. … Trialist goalkeeper Cody Mizell from Charlotte Independence is also still in camp with Colorado.

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