Whitecaps prepare to kick off season with or without White

VANCOUVER — A large question looms as the Vancouver Whitecaps prepare to start the 2022 Major League Soccer season — will top striker Brian White be fit to take the field?

White travelled to Ohio with his teammates for Saturday's season opener against Columbus Crew SC, but hasn't trained since he was stepped on in training and suffered a foot contusion earlier this week.

"We'll see if he's going to be able to participate in the game, but we'll test him (on Friday)," head coach Vanni Sartini said Thursday.

Not having the 26-year-old American forward available would be a blow to the 'Caps as they try to kick off the 2022 campaign on a high.

Traded to Vancouver from the New York Red Bulls in June, White led the team in scoring last season, putting up 12 goals and five assists in 27 appearances and helping the club secure its first playoff spot in four years.

The Whitecaps struggled though the middle part of the season, but finished on a high, going 7-2-5 after Sartini took over as interim coach in late August and finished sixth in the West with a full-season record of 12-9-13.

The 'Caps lost 3-1 to Sporting Kansas City in a first-round playoff matchup and Sartini has been waiting for the new season to start ever since.

“That’s the reason we do this job, we want to play this game," said the coach, who dropped the interim tag in November after signing on to lead the club through 2023.

Columbus is coming off a disappointing 2021. The Crew came in as the defending MLS Cup champions but finished ninth in the East with a 13-13-8 record, missing the playoffs.

Head coach Caleb Porter said he's "very confident" his team will have a better track record this season.

"We've just got to ride through the ups and downs," he said.