TFC Republic Weekly: May 18-24
Toronto FC will be looking for its first win since April 4 when it plays the second game of its four-match road swing this weekend.
Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.
This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC, and also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.
So, without further ado...
Undermanned Toronto FC loses away to Charlotte FC
Mired in an unprecedented injury crisis, Toronto FC put forth a valiant effort in the opener of a six-game road swing on Saturday but came out on the wrong end of a 3-1 road loss to Charlotte FC.
Derrick Etienne Jr scored for Toronto (3-5-5) who dropped from 10th to 11th in the Eastern Conference and is now winless in eight games across all competitions.
No less than 13 members of TFC's 27-man roster were ruled out due to injury: midfielders José Cifuentes (knee), Djordje Mihailovic (pelvis) and Markus Cimermancic (adductor); winger Theo Corbeanu (knee), forwards Josh Sargent (thigh), Deandre Kerr (thigh) and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint (groin); defenders Benjamin Kuscevic (groin), Zane Monlouis (knee) and Lazar Stefanovic (foot); and fullbacks Richie Laryea (thigh), Matheus Pereira (groin) and Henry Wingo (thigh).
With such a lengthy injury list, Toronto signed fullback Jackson Gilman, defender Luca Costabile, midfielder Fletcher Bank and forward Dékwon from TFC 2 to short-term contracts. Gilman rose to the occasion with a man-of-the-match effort in his MLS debut.
"Injuries happen and we're a team and we have to find ways to do it. … It is what it is, and we have to use who we have to use. And at the end of the day, these guys stepped up and did well," coach Robin Fraser said.
Fraser was also irate over a trio of calls and non-calls by the officials that he felt went against TFC, most notably feeling that a goal by Gilman that was disallowed should have stood.
"When I come in and I get five texts from random people around the country, and the first thing they say is, 'What do the referees have against TFC?' I don't really know. I don't really know," Fraser fumed.
John Molinaro
Lazar Stefanovic expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks
Toronto FC will have to make do without defender Lazar Stefanovic until well after the MLS break for this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
Robin Fraser confirmed last week that the young centre back has a broken fifth metatarsal in his foot and that he’s “going to be out for a while.”
Fraser said he suffered the same injury three times during his playing career, and he pegped Stefanovic’s time on the injury list at “probably somewhere between eight and 10 weeks.”
Stefanovic, 19, is one of the club's most promising young prospects, having previously cut his teeth with the youth academy and TFC 2. But he has found opportunities hard to come by this season (just six games, one start) as Fraser has been keen to go with more experienced players in central defence.
In total, Stefanovic has made 24 appearances for Toronto since earning his first-team debut in 2023.
John Molinaro
Discussions with José Cifuentes ongoing
Scottish newspaper The Daily Record reported last week that Toronto FC won’t exercise its purchase option on José Cifuentes and that he will return to Glasgow Rangers once his loan spell expires at the end of June.
But Robin Fraser told TFC Republic that talks between the MLS club, the Ecuadorian midfielder and Rangers are ongoing.
“There are discussions between us and the parent club, us and the player, and all these things will certainly resolve themselves in enough time. We have Cifu till [the end of] June, so [we’re] just going through the necessary steps now to try to move things forward and see where it goes,” Fraser said.
Asked if a final decision has been made about Cifuentes, Fraser replied, “Not to my knowledge.”
Cifuentes, 27, dealt with injury and fitness issues after joining TFC last summer on loan, recording just one assist in seven MLS appearances. This year he’s shown more of the form he displayed during his time at LAFC (15 goals and 20 assists from 2020 to 2023) with one goal and three assists in 10 matches. But he’s sat out the last four games in all competitions with a knee injury.
The MLS Players Association published the salaries for all of its players for the 2026 season last week, revealing that Cifuentes is earning $1,570,000 US.
John Molinaro
TFC vs. Chicago Fire on Saturday
Toronto FC plays the second game of its six-match road swing when it visits the Chicago Fire on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET/TSN & Apple TV).
Chicago (7-4-2) sits fourth in the Eastern Conference, seven spots and nine points above Toronto. The Fire have won three of their last five games and two in a row, including a 2-0 road decision away to CF Montreal this past weekend.
Belgian striker Hugo Cuypers netted his league-leading 13th goal of the season in the win to become just the third player in MLS history to score in 10 consecutive regular-season matches (Josef Martinez and Carlos Vela are the others). Cuypers' 13 goals represents 52 per cent of the 25 goals that Chicago has scored this season.
Danish midfielder Philip Zinckernagel has a team-high six assists, while goalkeeper Chris Brady has six clean sheets (second overall in MLS). With 15 goals against, the Fire have the fifth-best defensive record in the league.
This weekend's match is the first of two meetings during the regular season between Toronto and Charlotte. They'll meet again on Sept. 5 at BMO Field.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
Deandre Kerr recently joined a special group of players in TFC history by appearing in his 100th MLS game for the club. The young Canadian recently spoke about reaching that milestone and his goals for this season. Look for my feature story on Kerr in the coming days.
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- A feature story on Robin Fraser's connection to Bruce Arena.
- A story on the return of Nicksoen Gomis
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" news stories throughout the week.
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. Chicago Fire.
- An audio interview piece with reporter Joe Chatz of On Tap Sports Net ahead of Saturday's road game.
- The reader mailbag.
- The weekly Random Thoughts column.
- The weekly TFC 2 report.
- And much more!
TFC Republic mailbag
TFC Republic will feature a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.
I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.
TFC Republic subscribers can get up to a 25% discount on ticket prices for Toronto FC home games during the 2026 MLS regular season and the 2026 Canadian Championship.
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TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.
