Portland Timbers winger Dairon Asprilla failed to crack the 18 for the third week in a row Sunday when the Timbers faced New York City FC.

Asprilla's absence was especially telling because of Portland's limited options on the wing heading into the game.

Darren Mattocks underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus two days before the match, leaving Portland short-handed at the winger position.

Still, instead of placing Asprilla on the game day roster, Timbers coach Caleb Porter made the decision to give 2016 MLS SuperDraft picks Neco Brett and Ben Polk -- both of whom have yet to make an appearance for the Timbers -- a chance in the 18.

After Asprilla's most recent absence from the 18, it is only fair to question whether he has any future with the Timbers, or if the club will look to move him at some point this season.

After training Wednesday, Porter reiterated that Asprilla is healthy and it has been a coaching decision not to play him.

"Like I've said every week, it's a decision and decisions are based on a lot of things," Porter said. "It's performance, it's attitude, it's all those things. To play on this team, you have to perform well and you have to have the right mindset."

Asprilla's quick descent has been particularly surprising since he entered the 2016 MLS season as a presumed starter.

After joining the Timbers in 2015, the 23-year-old Colombian winger earned a spot in the starting 11 late last year as the Timbers were making their run to the MLS Cup title. Asprilla scored a wonder goal against FC Dallas in the Western Conference Championship series and finished the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs with a goal and three assists.

He started the first four games of the 2016 MLS season, before injuring his foot ahead of a game against the LA Galaxy April 10.

But after recovering from the injury, Asprilla did not return to the starting lineup. He appeared as a late game substitute against New England and Toronto, before failing to make the 18 in the last three games.

Porter said that seeing a player lose a position so quickly isn't uncommon.

"If you've been around sports, that happens," Porter said. "Things change quick in terms of where a player's position is, and actually if you look back on the four years here, it has been the same with some other guys."

Some past examples demonstrate that a player suddenly falling out of favor can be a sign that their time in Portland is coming to an end.

Dairon Asprilla

Former Timbers midfielder James Marcelin was a regular contributor in 2011, but fell out favor in 2012 and played just one minute over his final seven games in Portland before the Timbers cryptically announced that they were waiving Marcelin for "non-soccer related reasons."

A more recent example is that of former Timbers forward Frederic Piquionne. Piquionne was a regular contributor under Porter in 2013, but struggled to get playing time in 2014. The Timbers announced in April 2014 that Piquionne had returned home due to a "family emergency." A few weeks later, the club announced that they had waived Piquionne.

Asprilla has still been participating in Timbers training in recent weeks, but his quick drop from starter to sub to not making the game day roster is hard to ignore.

At this point, his departure from Portland would not come as a surprise.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg