Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi will likely be back in the starting lineup when the Timbers face the Seattle Sounders at Providence Park Sunday afternoon.

Adi, who has started all but three MLS games this season, was a late scratch from the starting 11 last week against the Sounders after missing the team flight to Seattle ahead of the game.

The 25-year-old striker, who leads the Timbers with 12 goals this season, ended up entering the match at Seattle as a second half substitute and scoring a late goal, but it was too little, too late as the Timbers fell 3-1 to the Sounders.

"We didn't expect to have one change in the last game, but ultimately that was something that was forced and we had to make the right decision there," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said.

Porter would not discuss the specific circumstances that led to Adi being scratched from the starting 11 Sunday.

This is not the first time this season that Adi has made headlines for off-field issues. In June, Adi's representatives told Goal.com that striker was looking to make a move to a more competitive club and that the forward was frustrated that the Timbers would not transfer him midseason.

Still, Porter said that Adi and the club have moved forward from the most recent problem that led to the lineup change last week and he doesn't expect there to be any persisting issues.

Porter is hopeful that the Timbers will be able to have continuity in their lineup in the final eight games of the season as they fight for a playoff berth.

That includes Adi playing an important role.

"With good teams those things are sorted, even though you suffer short-term," Porter said. "You make the right decision because you have to even though you suffer and then you move on from it. I'm confident there will be no issues with that moving forward and that we'll move on from it. There's not going to be any lingering effects from that as well."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg