Jozy Altidore will be back in a familiar place for Toronto FC on Saturday, starting up top against the New York Red Bulls. As for Sebastian Giovinco, the news was not as good. TFC’s leading scorer will miss his fourth consecutive match as he continues to recover from a quad strain.

Altidore declared himself fit to play following Thursday’s training session, saying his hamstring is pain-free and “sitting on the sidelines sucks.” Altidore will make his return to the starting 11 after missing TFC’s last three matches.

Giovinco has participated in some of the first-team drills at times during this past week, but under restrictions. On Friday, he trained with the first team, but wasn’t taking shots. As we’ve seen from TFC throughout the season, the club has no intention of rushing players back from injury.

 

The Supporters’ Shield

Saturday's home date could be an historic one for the club as it tries to secure its first-ever Supporters' Shield as the Major League Soccer team with the best regular-season record.

The 1962-63 Maple Leafs are the last Toronto team in a major North American sports league to finish with the best regular-season record. TFC can end that 54-year drought on Saturday.

With a win or a combination of other scenarios (listed below), TFC will become the first Canadian MLS team to win the Shield, which also secures them home-field advantage throughout the 2017 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

 

Toronto FC will clinch with:

- A TFC win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

- A TFC draw plus a New York City FC draw or loss versus Chicago on Saturday and an Atlanta United draw or loss versus New England on Saturday.

- A New York City FC loss versus Chicago and an Atlanta United loss versus New England.

“Obviously, the Supporters’ Shield has been a big goal of ours all season. It is something that we have been after since the first weekend. We want to step on the field tomorrow in our stadium and in front of our fans and be ready to win a big game, win the Supporters’ Shield and move into the last part of our season in a really strong way. And make sure we're ready to go for all the big games that are coming.”

- TFC captain Michael Bradley on the chance to win the Supporters' Shield at home.

“I think it’s [Supporters' Shield] there, we all know it’s there, but as we have approached all things this season, it is ultimately about how we play, our performance, doing the right things in the moment, one play at a time. If we do that, execute in key moments, protect our goal when we need to protect our goal, we give ourselves the best shot at three points, which will obviously solidify it. We are all aware of it, shooting for it, but we know we have to stay in the moment and make sure we deal with the moment.”

- TFC head coach Greg Vanney on Saturday’s match.

 

Seba’s status

Giovinco has gone about his work over the last handful of weeks, rehabbing his injured quad. At times he would participate in drills with the first team, while at other times he would be one field over working with the training staff on strengthening his quad.

With the international break coming up, the next time he will have a chance to see match action will come on Sunday, Oct. 15, at home against Montreal.

“We are not going to put Sebastian available for selection this weekend,” Vanney said. “He trained today with the group, he's accomplished many of the things that we want and he's made progress. However, there is still one big step, which is unloading shots and things that you do in an environment, like a match, which is not controlled. We still have a little bit of steps that we want to take with him before we put him out there. There is some risk still associated with him playing in a match situation.”

 

Ricketts relishing another chance to start

With Giovinco not available for selection this weekend, Tosaint Ricketts will get another opportunity to be part of the starting 11.

Ricketts has made the most of the opportunities to start in the absence of Altidore and Giovinco in recent weeks, bagging four goals and an assist in four starts. Having Ricketts contributing will only aid the team as they approach the final month of the regular season and MLS Cup Playoffs.

“I enjoy playing with Jozy, he's a big presence, holds the ball up well and creates spaces for me behind and it complements well,” Ricketts said. “I'm excited start with him.”

“Tosaint is dynamic, he's active. He's picked up four goals in three games last week, which was nice,” Vanney said. “Just trying to keep Tosaint in form and keep him flying, because down the stretch we're going to need Tosaint. Last year, in the playoffs, he proved to be a vital part of our run through the playoffs.”

 

Toronto FC vs. New York Red Bulls, Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on TSN2 and TSN1050