VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps’ “officially” closed practice was opened 90 minutes in and striker Kenny Miller was lying on a training table, his right knee wrapped in ice.

Oh, oh. A new injury?

“He’s old,” cracked a Caps staffer in response.

So just wear and tear then, no damaged knee. That’s a relief.

It does seem, however, that since he hasn’t really practised since coming off in the 48th minute Saturday with groin tightness and spent most of Thursday doing rehab with trainers, Miller is doubtful to play this Saturday when the Caps face the Timbers in Portland in a crucial Western Conference matchup (8 p.m., CITY TV, Team 1410).

“Still don’t know,” was head coach Martin Rennie’s response to a question about Miller’s status. “He took part in some of training and I’ll find out now.”

Miller, 33, is the Caps’ interim captain and second-leading goal scorer with six. When he missed seven consecutive games earlier in the season with a hamstring problem, Vancouver went 1-2-4. He returned for a game in New York on June 1, which the Caps won 2-1, launching them on a 6-1-1 run.

Miller’s potential absence would appear to be a perfect opportunity to give teenager Kekuta Manneh his first start since the regular-season opener. The speedy Ghanian has provided a pair of goals and some terrific energy off the bench of late. In Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Philadelphia at BC Place Stadium, he played 42 minutes after Miller came off, hitting the goal post once and being credited with three other shots.

Rennie sounded as if he’d prefer to keep Manneh as a dangerous option off the bench and perhaps turn to Corey Hertzog or six-foot-three Tommy Heinemann.

“There’s a couple of different options. (Manneh) is a different type of player to Kenny. I think Corey and Tommy are maybe more similar like-for-like changes. But it’s nice to have those options.

“Kekuta could do well in a game like (Saturday’s), but Cory or Tommy could do well, too. Cory’s a goal threat, Tommy’s got great presence and there’s quite a lot of direct play in a game like this, so there’s a few things we have to decide upon. Today we had a good session, 11 vs. 11 at the start and were able to look at some combinations. Gives us good potential if Kenny doesn’t play.”

WHO’S IN THE MIDDLE: With midfielders Jun Marques Davidson (red card against Philadelphia) and Gershon Koffie (yellow card accumulation) suspended for Saturday, that part of the lineup becomes critical for Rennie.

Portland has one of the best midfields in MLS in Canadian Will Johnson (six goals) and Colombian playmaker Diego Chara (three assists). You can also throw in Argentinian Diego Valeri, who has split time between midfield and forward and who has four goals and seven assists.

The obvious choices for Rennie are dependable Matt Watson, who is strong defensively, and first-year Cap Daigo Kobayashi, who has struggled since some early-season flash. He could also mix things up by dropping young Canadian Russell Teibert back into midfield from the wing or even give rookie first-round draft pick Erik Hurtado a run.