Dairon Asprilla, Matt Hedges

Portland Timbers midfielder/forward Dairon Asprilla (11) dribbles the ball as FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges (24) defends during the second half of the first leg of the MLS soccer Western Conference championship in Portland, Ore., Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015. Portland won 3-1. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola)

(Steve Dipaola)

Portland Timbers winger Dairon Asprilla has a "minor" ankle sprain, but the club is "optimistic" that he will be healthy enough to start in Sunday's regular season home opener against the Columbus Crew, Timbers coach Caleb Porter said.

Asprilla sprained his ankle after being taken down by the Chicago Fire's Joao Mera in the 70th minute of Saturday's preseason Simple Invitational game.

Porter said that Asprilla will sit out the first few days of training this week, but he expects his winger to be ready to train Friday and Saturday ahead of Sunday's home opener.

"It's a minor injury," Porter said. "We're hoping to have him back in training by the end of the week."

If Asprilla cannot play Sunday, it would be a major blow to the Timbers, who don't currently have a ton of depth at the winger position. Still, Porter said he would not make a change to the team's formation if Asprilla is unavailable to play.

Asprilla isn't the only Timber working his way back from injury.

Timbers captain Liam Ridgewell has been dealing with calf tightness and was working with a trainer on the side of practice Monday.

Porter said that Ridgewell is expected to be back in training as early as Tuesday and should be ready for Sunday's game.

"We hope to have Asprilla and Ridgy ready," Porter said. "Ridgy for sure. Asprilla, we'll see, but we're optimistic. We're optimistic he'll be ready by the end of the week. It wasn't a major injury."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg