Liam Ridgewell entered the 2018 MLS season as the Portland Timbers captain, donning the armband in the club's first two games of the season.

But he gone on to play only a limited role for the club this year.

Ridgewell has made just six starts this season and hasn't even been in the 18 since May 19. The reasons for his limited playing time have been varied.

After starting Ridgewell in the first two games of the year, Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese made the decision to bench the veteran center back following the club's 4-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls on March 10. While Savarese was never clear on his exact reasons for benching Ridgewell, the 34-year-old was criticized for his perceived lack of effort in the Red Bulls match. Ridgewell also alluded to "disagreements" between him and Savarese in an interview with the media.

Still, Ridgewell returned to the lineup on April 22 and was instrumental in helping the Timbers earn key clean sheet in three-straight games. But Ridgewell suffered a quad injury just six minutes into a game against LAFC on May 19. He hasn't played a single minute for Portland since that match.

While his extended absence has been due in part to injury and in part to him stepping away from the team to be present for the birth of his daughter, Ridgewell has been back in training and healthy for the last few weeks. But Savarese has not yet given him an opportunity to return to the lineup. Instead, Savarese has continued to start Larrys Mabiala and Julio Cascante at center back, with Lawrence Olum occasionally dropping into a center back role depending on the formation.

It might now be the right time for Savarese to finally reintegrate Ridgewell.

Portland has conceded avoidable goals in the last two games as they've had to fight back to earn a draw with the Montreal Impact and rely on late-game heroics to beat the Houston Dynamo. Cascante, who has shown well this season, has looked shaky on a few of Portland's concessions.

Savarese implied Tuesday that Ridgewell could get a chance back in the lineup in the coming weeks.

"He's a very important component of this club," Savarese said. "He's a good player. I think this week is going to be important. He's healthy and we'll see what will be the decision for this weekend."

Even if Ridgewell doesn't see the field Saturday when the Timbers host the Philadelphia Union, he could still be important in the coming weeks as the club navigates a slate of six games in August.

"I think the month of August is going to be a busy month for us," Savarese said. "We're going to play a lot of matches. We need everyone to be ready to be able to perform. Liam has given a lot to this club and he's an important component to this team."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg