TFC striker Jozy Altidore out 4-6 weeks after undergoing foot surgery

Toronto FC’s bid to climb out of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference basement will continue without the help of star forward Jozy Altidore.

The Reds, who face the Seattle Sounders in a rematch of the 2017 MLS Cup on Wednesday, announced that Altidore underwent surgery to remove bone fragments from his foot on Tuesday and will miss the next 4-6 weeks.

Toronto (2-4-1), winner’s of the Supporter’s Shield as the top regular season club last year, is 10th in the 11-team Eastern Conference while Seattle (1-4-2), who finished last season second in the Western Conference, sits at the bottom of the 12-team table.

Altidore scored the opening goal as the Reds blanked the Sounders 2-0 in last year’s MLS Cup — a rematch of the 2016 final, which Seattle won in a shootout.

“I think our group realizes where we’re at in the table and the progress that we need to make in terms of acquiring points,” said Reds coach Greg Vanney. “It’s a new year. All of the stuff from behind us is just that, it’s behind us, including Champions League.

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“Seattle coming in, whatever happened last year is behind us now, for both of us. I think both of us are now looking to accumulate points and build some momentum into the regular season.”

While focusing on Champions League through the first two months of the MLS schedule, TFC went 1-4-0 picking up just three of a possible 15 points and found themselves at the bottom of the table last month.

Since shifting their focus back to the league schedule, Toronto earned a 2-2 draw against Chicago on April 28 and secured its second win of the season last Friday defeating the Philadelphia Union 3-0 at BMO Field.

Despite the uphill battle to climb back into playoff position, TFC captain Michael Bradley says the team isn’t in desperation mode as they sit seven points back the final playoff spot.

“We’re playing at home; we want to win,” he said. “Given the way things have gone, we’ve got some ground to make up, but we take things one game at a time. Tomorrow, Seattle is in front of us, we want to try to step on the field at home and play well, put the game on our terms and take things from there.”

In addition to Altidore, the Reds have been without Chris Mavinga (hamstring), Eriq Zavaleta (quad strain) and Nick Hagglund (hamstring), Justin Morrow (calf) and Drew Moor (quad tear) for recent games. Hagglund, Mavinga and Zavaleta all participated in training on Tuesday with Mavinga appearing the closest to returning.

Injuries have also plagued the Sounders, who have just one win in their first seven games. Seattle has been without defenders Roman Torres and Chad Marshall in recent matches. The Sounders have also been without star Jordan Morris all season after he tore his ACL in pre-season.

“Early in the year to lose Jordan Morris is a big setback for them because they don’t have a ton of depth at the forward position after Jordan and Will Bruin and obviously Clint (Dempsey),” said Vanney. “They don’t have a ton of depth at striker position and so that’s one that hurts them. I think they’ve had some difficulty with getting the centre backs healthy and on the field together on any consistent basis, which we know how that feels.”

The Reds won the only regular season meeting between the two clubs last season 1-0 in Seattle. Wednesday is the first of two games for Toronto this week as they travel to New England on Saturday to face the Revolution.

Dhiren Mahiban, The Canadian Press