The reinforcements that the Crew front office brought in during the summer transfer window have made a major difference in just a few games, leading to two wins, two ties and no losses.

At the same time, the Crew hasn’t been able to field a consistent lineup because of injury. It will have to juggle a few more pieces in a depleted defense Saturday against FC Cincinnati while needing a win and three points against the last-place team in Major League Soccer to continue building confidence.

“We've been doing that all year, so it's almost become normal,” coach Caleb Porter said.

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Hector Jimenez, who suffered a left knee injury on a collision before the five-minute mark Saturday night at San Jose, is out indefinitely because of an MCL injury. Aboubacar Keita, who was filling in for three injured center backs, then suffered a leg injury after he moved over to cover for Jimenez and might be out this week.

Porter said Wednesday that the team is still evaluating Jimenez and couldn’t give a timetable on his return. Jimenez has been a steady player for the Crew with a goal and four assists in mostly fill-in starts.

“That's why we really value him is (because) he can play a lot of different roles and because he's such a good pro and a good guy,” Porter said. “In terms of a depth piece, his presence will be missed until he gets back."

The Crew could also not have center back Josh Williams because of a hamstring injury and left back Waylon Francis because of a leg injury.

Then there’s center back Gaston Sauro, who transferred Wednesday to Deportivo Toluca in Mexico’s top league. Sauro’s contract was to expire at the end of the season, so the Crew was willing to move him to get a transfer fee and because of the depth at the position. Sauro wanted to make the move as well.

“It was a good opportunity for him,” Porter said. “You never want to lose a good player like Gaston. I really enjoyed working with him. But I think any time that there's a move like this that makes sense for the player and the club, we all leave on good terms.”

The Crew did see top center back Jonathan Mensah return last week after Jimenez left the game. But if Keita, Francis and Williams can’t go Saturday, the Crew might have to use Pedro Santos in the backline. Santos is the team’s second-leading scorer and has played the central attacking midfield role since Federico Higuain suffered a season-ending injury in May.

Santos is in the middle of a career season with seven goals, tied for his highest. With the way the offense has been playing lately, with eight goals in four games, it would be difficult to move Santos, who controls the action.

But the Crew has more attacking pieces that Porter can choose from with the additions of Luis Diaz and Youness Mokhtar in the attacking midfield. Whoever plays just has to find a way to get the job done.

“It's about one game at a time,” midfielder Wil Trapp said. “I can't say it enough. We can sit here and talk about the run of form, but ultimately it's about the individual games, and we have to step up.”

jmyers@dispatch.com

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