Federico Higuain's season has become a lost one. In terms of his future with Crew SC, is it fair to wonder if it's also his last one?

Changes are coming to Gregg Berhalter's side and one would suspect they will be significant. The club's dozy performance in a 3-1 loss to the Whitecaps on Saturday night in soggy Mapfre Stadium is the latest evidence of a core group unable to summon the requisite effort and execution at winning time.

It allowed two more late goals to an opponent that had scored once in its previous seven matches. Playoff hopes are all but mathematically vanquished, and it's time for Berhalter to have at least one eye cast toward 2017.

Does the coach and sporting director see Higuain, who turns 32 next month, as part of the long-term plan here?

Federico Higuain�s season has become a lost one. In terms of his future with Crew SC, is it fair to wonder if it�s also his last one?

Changes are coming to Gregg Berhalter�s side and one would suspect they will be significant. The club�s dozy performance in a 3-1 loss to the Whitecaps on Saturday night in soggy Mapfre Stadium is the latest evidence of a core group unable to summon the requisite effort and execution at winning time.

It allowed two more late goals to an opponent that had scored once in its previous seven matches. Playoff hopes are all but mathematically vanquished, and it�s time for Berhalter to have at least one eye cast toward 2017.

Does the coach and sporting director see Higuain, who turns 32 next month, as part of the long-term plan here? He�s missed eight games with pain in his abdominal region, the lingering effects of a sport hernia that�s dogged him since preseason.

�So, the thing with Federico, he�s a guy that wants to be out on the field,� Berhalter said. � And, we�re evaluating him and he has a lot of pain, he�s playing with a lot of pain. We�re trying to figure out how we�re going to get him through the rest of the season, and how to get rid of some of the pain and plan a path forward because we need him on the field.�

The club must be baffled and concerned as to why Higuain hasn�t been able to bounce back. Justin Meram had the same injury and surgery in preseason and has shown no ill effects.

Higuain has rarely looked right in contributing four goals and three assists in 19 matches. It's been one of the biggest storylines in this disppointing season. His six-game absence in June-July coupled with his diminished effectiveness since returning to the lineup must be unnerving to Berhalter.

Was the surgery botched? Was the damage more extensive than previously suspected? We probably won�t get those answers until the season is over or the team decides to shut him down.

If it�s just a matter of giving Higuain more rest why risk playing him again this year? The Crew (5-11-11) isn�t climbing back into the playoff race.

It�s been a difficult season on and off the field for the Argentine. The public spat with Kei Kamara raised questions about team chemistry. The Dispatch reported the club was shopping both Kamara and Higuain at one point. Ultimately, it traded the striker and kept the crafty playmaker who had been so good in his first four seasons in Columbus.

Higuain said the discomfort he experienced before the surgery left him running �like crap.� He�s shown flashes of his old self over the past six weeks, but the consistent quality has been lacking. Higuain has missed two of the past three matches and last week in Los Angeles played 45 minutes in the defensive midfield.

�Missing Higuain is always an issue,� Berhalter said.

The coach abandoned his 4-2-3-1 formation on Saturday night and played a 3-4-3 in part because of Pipa�s absence. It�s the first time Berhalter has deviated from his preferred set up in an MLS game. The tactical change generated little attack. Columbus� lone goal from Ola Kamara came on a set piece.

Higuain has been a central figure in Berhalter�s first two seasons that ended with playoff appearances and last year fell one win short of a title. But can the Crew count on its designated player, who according to spotrac.com is making $1.175 million this season, going forward?

The Crew is tied for the worst record in the league after a game in which Berhalter apologized to fans for his team�s pitiful performance. The feeling here is almost nobody is guaranteed a roster spot for next season.

Maybe Higuain returns to form in the coming weeks and puts an end to any doubts. If he doesn�t, however, Berhalter will have an interesting decision to make about his future in Columbus.

treed@dispatch.com

@treed1919