Ranko Veselinovic

ANALYSIS
Veselinovic has not played since July 19 and has been working through a lengthy knee recovery, making his return to the training pitch a genuinely encouraging development for Vancouver. The center-back will need to be managed carefully given how long he has been away from competitive action, and the coaching staff will want to see him come through a full week of training before committing to his involvement in one of the coming fixtures for the Whitecaps. Tristan Blackmon and Mathias Laborda have been handling central defense duties in his prolonged absence and could retain their spots depending on how Veselinovic responds in the coming days.