Portland Timbers center back Liam Ridgewell finally made his return to the lineup Sunday against New York City FC after being left off the game day roster for four-straight matches.

But he wasn't wearing the captain's armband when he stepped on the field.

Instead, Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri was donning the captain's armband for the fifth-straight match.

"If I could give the band to all the players that I have, I think everybody deserves it," Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. "For me, it's something that we decided for this match and we will continue to see how it's going to progress. Liam doesn't need a band, Valeri, (Diego) Chara, they don't need anything because they are already leaders. When they step on the field, the important part is they play the way they did this past weekend."

Ridgewell has consistently worn the captain's armband for Portland since midway through the 2015 season and wore the captain's armband in the first two games this year.

But after the Timbers fell 4-0 to the New York Red Bulls on March 10, Savarese made the decision to bench Ridgewell. The move came after Ridgewell was criticized for his perceived lack of effort against the Red Bulls. Ridgewell also said Sunday that he and Savarese had some "disagreements" in conversations behind the scenes.

With Ridgewell out of the lineup, Valeri began wearing the captain's armband for the club's March 24 game against FC Dallas on the road.

On Sunday, Valeri wore the armband for the first 78 minutes of the game. He then handed it off to Chara when he was subbed out of the match.

While Savarese praised Ridgewell's performance in the club's 3-0 win over NYCFC Sunday, he would not say whether he foresaw giving Ridgewell back the armband in the future. Savarese has not officially named a team captain and has, instead, said that he sees multiple players, including Ridgewell, Valeri and Chara, as leaders on the field.

"For me, it was important just to see how Liam was able to come back and play a strong match and be able to contribute the way we want for the team," Savarese said.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg