With any luck, Chad Barrett's time in the infirmary will be short-lived.

The Toronto FC forward returned to training on Friday after tweaking his hamstring last week, an injury that forced Barrett to miss TFC's 2-1 win over Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.

Barrett said he feels confident he will be cleared by coach Preki to play Saturday when the Reds host Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 1 pm ET), a crucial game for both clubs, which are fighting to make Major League Soccer's playoffs.

"It feels pretty good. I just went through practice today with everyone," Barrett told CBCSports.ca.

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"I was running on it and it felt fine, so I'm looking to be on the bench [Saturday]. That has to be a decision that Preki makes, but I hope to be out there."

Barrett, who is second in team scoring with six goals this season, said the club's trainer will re-evaluate him on Saturday morning before Preki makes a final decision.

"I feel that I'll be out there," Barrett admitted. "If [the trainer] says it's OK, I'm sure that Preki will want me out there."

Barrett sustained the injury in a 1-0 loss to the Red Bulls in New York on Aug. 11.

"I felt it after making a long run. After the next long run I made, I felt a shock of pain so I pulled himself out of the game to avoid making it worse," Barrett explained.

Veteran defender Nick Garcia was also back training on Friday. Like Barrett, he sat out the Cruz Azul game (with a knee injury), but could return to action against the Red Bulls.

"Garcia seems to be OK," Preki said Friday after practice.

Santos out against New York

The outlook isn't as optimistic for Maicon Santos. The Brazilian forward has been sidelined with a knee injury since Toronto's 2-1 win over Chivas USA on Aug. 7.

Santos did some light jogging and trained on his own Friday during the team's practice, but he won't be available to play against New York.

"He's making some progress. We're hoping that he's not going to be out for long," Preki said.

Another player who won't be on the field for TFC on Saturday is Julian de Guzman. The Canadian midfielder earned an automatic one-game suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in Toronto's 1-0 loss to the Red Bulls in New York last week.

"We'll miss [Julian] for sure, but also we have to believe that we have other players that are capable of stepping in and filling the hole," Preki said.