Portland Timbers captain Liam Ridgewell (foot sprain) is likely out while defender Vytas (calf strain) is questionable for Sunday's game against the New England Revolution.

Timbers coach Caleb Porter had hoped that Ridgewell and Vytas would be back in the lineup by now, but it has taken longer than expected for the two players to recover from their injuries. Both players have missed the last three games as they've dealt with the injuries.

Porter said that Vytas and Ridgewell have taken steps forward this week.

Vytas did some work on the field Wednesday and could return to training as early as Friday. Porter said the club will evaluate Vytas on Friday and Saturday before determining whether the left back will be healthy enough to play Sunday.

"Vytas could be tight for this game, we'll see, but he had a good day today," Porter said. "It's always trickier with defenders because you don't want to sub a defender out of a game, so it's a tougher decision. They have to be 90 minutes ready."

Porter said that Ridgewell has progressed this week as well, but is still behind Vytas and will likely be unavailable for Sunday's game.

"Ridgewell has progressed as well, but is looking again unlikely for this weekend," Porter said. "We're hoping (he's back) in the next several weeks."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg