Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi was not in the 18 for the second game in a row Saturday.

After failing to see minutes in Portland's scoreless draw with LAFC last Sunday, Adi was noticeably absent from the lineup sheet for Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup loss to LAFC before being left out of the 18 for Saturday's home draw against the Montreal Impact.

Adi has been a critical player for the Timbers since joining the club in 2014. He has netted 53 goals in 125 career appearances for Portland. But the 27-year-old Designated Player has recorded just two goals in 13 appearances this year and has struggled to get playing time in recent weeks as forward Samuel Armenteros has taken off.

As Adi has seen less time in the starting lineup, there has been growing speculation that the Timbers could try to move him in the summer transfer window, which opened this month. MLS teams are only allowed to carry three Designated Players on their rosters and it isn't an efficient use of resources under the salary cap to carry a Designated Player that isn't seeing the field.

Timbers owner Merritt Paulson also said last week that the club could potentially sell "a big player" in the near future, which has contributed to the speculation around Adi.

While a possible transfer could explain Adi's absence, it is also possible that something occurred behind the scenes that led to Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese removing Adi from the 18.

Savarese would not address the specific reasons for Adi's absence after Saturday's game. Savarese confirmed that Adi is healthy and fit, but also said that there are some things that need to be "kept between a player and a coach."

Here are Savarese's full comments on Adi's absence:

First of all, I must say that Adi is fit. He's not injured. I believe he's a great player and a good person as well. I think there are things sometimes that stay between a player and a coach for decisions that are made. I think this is one of those cases where I think things need to be kept between a player and a coach. That's why he wasn't in the 18 today, not because of anything that had to do with his quality of play. He's a great player. He's been very good for this club as well. When people were saying that he wasn't good a few weeks ago, I was disagreeing completely because he's a good player. I think those things just need to stay between a player and a coach.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg