Toronto FC was back in training on Tuesday following its 0-0 draw against the Columbus Crew at home on the weekend.

Here are some news and notes from today’s practice at the club’s training facility in Downsview.

Italy snubs Seba for Euro 2016

Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco won’t be going to Euro 2016. Italian national team manager Antonio Conte on Monday announced his 30-man preliminary roster for the European Championship than runs from June 10 to July 10 in France. Giovinco did not make the list.

It’s a big blow for Giovinco, who is widely considered the best player in Major League Soccer. But there’s no denying that this is a big boost for TFC, as Giovinco has eight goals and five assists through the first 12 matches of the season. His omission is also good news for Toronto in light of the fact that captain Michael Bradley is away with the U.S. national team at the Copa America for the next month or so, and Jozy Altidore is sidelined for six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury.

“I’m sad for him that he doesn’t get the opportunity to go because I know it was something he really wanted to do. At the same time, we have him here for us and we stand to benefit from that,” Toronto coach Greg Vanney admitted.

He later added: “We have a handful of important games coming up… and it helps us that he’s here. He’s an important piece of our team—that’s probably the understatement of the day, but he’s a key piece.”

The Reds would’ve been without all three of their designated players at the same time had Giovinco been called up for Euro duty. It would also have left Toronto with a major problem up front—without both Giovinco and Altidore available, the team’s attacking depth would have been tested.

Still, his TFC teammates were rooting for him to get called up by the Azzurri.

“It’s mixed emotions because you feel bad for Seba. It’s a huge tournament and I personally 100 percent believe he deserves to be there. …Selfishly, we’re happy he’s [staying]. He’s such an important part of this squad,” TFC defender Drew Moor said.

In explaining his decision to omit Giovinco and Andrea Pirlo, who plays for New York City FC, Conte said playing in MLS worked against them.

“It’s clear that if you make such choices in football then at the end you might pay the consequences,” Conte stated.

However, when Giovinco first came to MLS in 2015, Conte supported the former Juventus star’s move, and even used him as a substitute in a pair of Euro qualifiers last October.

“It’s interesting. [Giovinco] obviously played some games last year [for Italy] and did well. You’ll see what happens this summer if it was the correct decision. Obviously, we feel for Sebastian. We wanted him to go. … I don’t think playing in MLS in any way takes away from the player that he is,” TFC midfielder Will Johnson said.

Moor didn’t put too much stock in Conte’s not-so veiled criticism of the standard of play in MLS.

“I don’t think we need the Italian national team coach to give us any credit. I don’t feel like he’s that important to us,” Moor stated. “I’ve been in MLS for 12 years, and I feel like it’s a pretty good league. I watch a lot of [soccer] around the world; we don’t need a guy like him to tell us that our league is great or that it’s not great.”

Giovinco was unavailable to speak to reporters after Tuesday’s practice. He is scheduled to talk to local media following Wednesday’s training session about being left off Italy’s roster.

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Cheyrou back healthy again

French midfielder Benoit Cheyrou, who has been sidelined since early April with a quad strain, was back in full training on Tuesday.

Cheyrou has missed the Reds’ last eight games, his last appearance coming in a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids on April 2 when he was sent off after only 13 minutes. In total, Cheyrou appeared in three games, two as a starter, and tallied 121 minutes of playing time before injuring his quad in practice.

His return comes at the perfect time with Bradley away on international duty.

“It’s good timing. We’re losing Michael for the Copa America, so to be able to add somebody like [Cheyrou] back into the mix will help us fill that void a bit,” Vanney said.

After missing the last three games with a hamstring issue, midfielder Marky Delgado has recovered and should be available to play against the New York Red Bulls this weekend. Delgado has one goal and an assist in eight games this season, seven as a starter.

Also, central defender Josh Williams had to be subbed out of Saturday’s game against Columbus after picking up a minor knock in the second half. Vanney said that there is no injury issue with Williams, and he can play in New York if needed.

Johnson could miss Canadian Championship semifinals

Bradley isn’t the only player TFC will be missing in the coming weeks due to international duty.

The Reds face the Montreal Impact in the two-game semifinals of the Canadian Championship on June 1 and June 8, with Toronto scheduled to host the opening leg. Those dates conflict with a pair of international friendlies the Canadian national team will play in Austria against Azerbaijan (June 3) and Uzbekistan (June 7).

These are Canada’s final two friendlies before they meet Honduras in San Pedro Sula on Sept. 2 in a crucial World Cup qualifying match.

Johnson confirmed he will definitely play for Canada in the first game against Azerbaijan, which rules him out for the opening leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals. But Johnson confirmed that Toronto FC is talking to Canada Soccer about getting him released early so that he can play for the Reds in the second leg in Montreal.

Looking ahead

Next up for TFC: a road game against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

The Red Bulls are coming off an impressive 7-0 win over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on the weekend to equal the MLS record for largest margin of victory.

“It was a show from the Red Bulls. A derby match like that, you expect it to be tight, you expect it to be close. It certainly wasn’t. The Red Bulls have been a funny team this year—they got off to a start that they weren’t very proud of but they’ve turned it around,” Moor said.

“That was a statement win for them, and it certainly got our attention.”

Toronto (4-4-4) is tied with New York (5-7-1) and Montreal (4-4-4) on 16 points for third place in the Eastern Conference.

TFC is 7-12-5 all-time against the Red Bulls. Toronto won the previous meeting, earning a 2-0 decision at Red Bull Arena on March 6 in the season opener for both clubs.

Saturday is the second of three meetings this season between the two teams. They’ll square off for the final time on Sept. 18 in Toronto.

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