Robin Fraser confirmed that Toronto FC's signing, Nelson Palacio, will miss the rest of the season due to a thigh injury ahead of their MLS clash with St. Louis City SC.
Palacio out for season without making Toronto debut
Toronto FC have been dealt an injury blow, with Nelson Palacio's thigh surgery ruling him out for the rest of 2026.
Palacio joined Toronto in a mid-season switch from Real Salt Lake in July but has yet to appear for the Reds since his transfer.
He underwent successful thigh surgery on Tuesday, which means fans will have to wait until 2027 to see their new man, and Toronto will be without him for the run-in.
"Throughout the whole thing, I think he feels really supported here; that's the impression I get that he's been in good spirits," Fraser told reporters.
"If you're a soccer player, you always want to be playing. I think he feels supported.
"Injuries happen. It's unfortunate; it's all part of it. It's one thing to go to a new team, and if you don't ever get up to speed, you don't get up to play, you can feel like, 'What am I doing here? What do they think of me because I haven't been healthy?'
"But I would think that he feels very supported here, and we're all very excited for getting 100% Nelson."
Toronto were on a seven-game unbeaten streak in MLS before last weekend, when they were beaten 3-0 by Orlando City SC.
It leaves them 12th in the Eastern Conference, three points off the playoff places, and they face a St. Louis City side in fine form.
They are fifth in the West on 41 points and are unbeaten in their last 15 league games stretching back to mid-May.
St. Louis also made history in midweek by reaching the U.S. Open Cup final for the first time by beating the Colorado Rapids 3-0 in Wednesday's semi-final.
"We want to write a history for the club," head coach Yoann Damet said. "It's the first final in club history.
"It's the first game that is going to matter for a trophy. Very happy for the guys. Very happy for the group. It's their reward for all the work they've been putting in, all the trust they have in each other."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City SC – Rafael Navarro
Rafael Navarro has scored braces in each of his first two career regular-season starts for St. Louis.
He is the first player to score multiple times in each of his first two starts with a club since Fanendo Adi for Portland Timbers in May-June 2014.
Toronto FC – Josh Sargent
Josh Sargent has attempted 17 shots over his last three MLS matches, including taking six against Orlando on Saturday.
Only Lionel Messi (23) has attempted more shots than Sargent's 17 in regular-season play in September.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY SC WIN
This will be the second all-time meeting between St. Louis and Toronto. City won their only previous match against the Reds, a 1-0 victory in Toronto in July 2023, thanks to a 50th-minute goal from Aziel Jackson.
St. Louis are unbeaten in a club-record 15 straight regular-season matches (W10 D5) following their 4-2 home win over Minnesota United.
There have only been three longer unbeaten runs within a single regular season in MLS history, most recently a 16-match run by the New York Red Bulls in 2016.
Toronto's seven-match regular-season unbeaten run (W3 D4) was snapped with a 3-0 defeat at Orlando. It was only their second defeat in 11 matches since returning from the World Cup break, with only Philadelphia Union (0), St. Louis (0) and Charlotte FC (one) losing fewer matches in that time.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City SC – 57.9%
Draw – 21.9%
Toronto FC – 20.2%
