TFC Tidbits: Henry Wingo's return could be a boon for Reds

Welcome to TFC Tidbits, a special feature at TFC Republic that curates bits and pieces of news about what's going on with Toronto FC.  

Defender back in the fold after long injury absence 

Henry Wingo was identified by TFC Republic last week as one of five players who must step up in a big way this season for Toronto FC.  

Wingo missed most of of the 2025 MLS campaign with a quadriceps injury, limited to just six league appearances (five starts) and 280 minutes. In total, the Seattle native has appeared in 11 MLS matches since joining TFC as a free agent in the summer of 2024, as he's consistently dealt with injury and fitness issues. 

Toronto desperately needs Wingo to stay healthy in order to help stabilize a back line that will be missing three starters from last year following the off-season departures of Kevin Long, Sigurd Rosted and Raoul Petretta. 

It's a small sample size, but the early returns are promising. Wingo, 30, looked solid coming off the bench in Saturday's 3-2 road loss to FC Dallas, his first taste of action for the Reds since May 28, 2025.

In 13 minutes of action, the American defender had one shot and made one tackle by registering 22 touches (the same number that Derrick Etienne Jr had in 77 minutes before being replaced by Wingo). 

Coach Robin Fraser was impressed with what he saw from Wingo in a difficult game situation. 

“I thought Henry did really well … He hasn't played in almost a year and it's a hard thing to get into a game [when] you're down, you're chasing the game. The other team's obviously looking to counterattack, and I thought he looked really calm and composed and I was actually thinking about that," Fraser said. 

"I know it's difficult when you haven't played for a long time and all of a sudden, you're in the heat of the game. But I thought he handled himself really, really well and it was great to see him play." 

The hope for TFC is that Wingo can build upon this and become a regular contributor for the club. If he's finally put his injury woes behind him and can do that, he has the potential to be a key piece for Toronto this year. 

"I haven't seen Henry play very much since I've been here because of his injuries last year. But he's worked extremely hard. The medical staff has worked extremely hard to get him into this position and it was great to see him play and Henry has a lot of experience," Fraser said. 

"He's a really good athlete; he has a lot of quality and for him now. It's just continuing to work on strengthening fitness and finding minutes and I thought he did a really good job with the timing he had tonight." 

(Top photo by Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)

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