Colorado Rapids midfielder Shkelzen Gashi is likely to miss the first leg of the club's Western Conference final tie against the Seattle Sounders, according to manager Pablo Mastroeni.
The Albanian international sprained his right ankle in the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals against the LA Galaxy, and was forced to leave that match at half-time.
The Rapids will play the first leg at Seattle on Nov. 22, with the second leg set to take place five days later. In an interview with MLSSoccer.com, Mastroeni said he remained hopeful that Gashi would be back for the return encounter.
"Gashi is making improvements every day," said Mastroeni. "He's a lot further than anything I anticipated to this point. His participation in the first leg will be doubtful, but with the expectation that we'll be able to get him in a good way for the home leg."