Should Canada start to worry about Bombito?

An argument can certainly be made heading into next summer's 2026 FIFA World Cup that Canada's most important player is Moise Bombito. But the Nice centre-back hasn't been seen on a pitch as of late and won't be back for the immediate future. As reported last week by TSN's Matt Scianitti, the 26-year-old Montreal native is expected to miss the next four weeks with a stress fracture in his tibia.

It's been a frustrating stretch of injury for the New Hampshire product, having missed all of Canada's summer action, first at the Canadian Shield and then the Gold Cup, as well as a two-week stretch late in the Ligue 1 season with a wrist injury and then a subsequent surgery and recovery period. In the key role of central defence, consistent playing time is so crucial for Bombito with the World Cup approaching. So is Steven Caldwell worried?

A little bit, but it could be worse. As Caldwell and Kevin Kilbane note, the injury to Bombito isn't muscular, which is a good thing when it comes to a player who is reliant on his pace. Still, a stress fracture is something that can recur over the course of the season, so injury management will be of the utmost importance as he gets back to fitness. That could mean limiting Bombito's minutes through the end of 2025 in order to ensure he fully heals.

Elsewhere, the highly anticipated matchup between the two men vying for Canada's No. 1 shirt at the World Cup ended on Saturday night with a stalemate. Maxime Crepeau and the Portland Timbers played to a 1-1 draw against the visiting Minnesota United and Dayne St. Clair. Both goals scored were late ones.

The first big chance of the match came for the visitors in the 24th when the Loons were awarded a free kick. Joaquin Pereyra struck well, but Crepeau was properly positioned and saw the effort the entire away, allowing him to dive to his left and parry away.

The Loons got on the board in the 77th from a corner. After Julian Gressell's initial effort was cleared, the ball made its way back to the German who crossed a ball to the far post where it was headed home by Anthony Markanich. The Timbers hadn't recovered from the initial clearance, leaving Markanich with time and space to beat Crepeau, who was left stationary. The effort had an expected-goal percentage of just 13.

Just as it appeared the visitors would take all three points, the Timbers struck back into stoppage. With all hands on deck for the Timbers and everybody outside of Crepeau up, Ian Smith's corner pinballed around the box before being cleared, but only as far as Juan Mosquera. Mosquera, who rung ball off of the crossbar only minutes earlier, sent in an absolutely beautiful ball for Omir Fernandez, who had slipped behind the Loons backline.

With his left foot, Fernandez dinked it into the roof of the net to send the fans at Providence Park into a frenzy. St. Clair immediately signaled for an offside, but none was coming. The xG on the marker was 37 per cent.

Both of Crepeau and St. Clair finished the match with three saves on four shots. In terms of post-shot expected goals (PSxG), St. Clair finished ahead. His was 1.1, while Crepeau came in at 0.5.

This brings us to the Week 7 Form Tracker when it comes to goalkeepers.

Race for the Roster: Week 7 - Form Tracker

St. Clair continues to hold the edge over Crepeau at 7.2 to 6.8. Brighton's Tom McGill, who will undoubtedly be sent out on loan before the summer is over, is the other bench option at 6.3. Caldwell has CF Montreal's Jonathan Sirois (6.6) and James Pantemis (4.7), Crepeau's Timbers teammate, still in the hunt. Of interest with Sirois is that he has been attached in recent days with a loan move to Ligue 2 side Montpellier. GiveMeSport's Tom Bogert reports that a potential deal could have a purchase option.

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Here's what Caldwell's squad looks like in Week 7 (Note that the lock icon represents a lock for the starting XI)

Race for the Roster Week 4

Race for the Roster: Week 7 (4-4-2)

Forwards

STARTERS: Jonathan David (Juventus) and Cyle Larin (Mallorca)
BENCH: Promise David (Union SG), Daniel Jebbison (Preston North End, on loan from Bournemouth) and Tani Oluwayesi (Minnesota United)

Midfield and Defenders

STARTING MIDFIELDERS: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) INJ, Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split), Stephen Eustaquio (Porto) and Tajon Buchanan (Inter)
BENCH: Jacob Shaffelburg INJ (Nashville), Ismael Koné (Marseille) Liam Millar (Hull City) INJ, Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht), Mathieu Choiniere (Grasshoppers), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC) INJ and Ali Ahmed (Vancouver Whitecaps)

STARTING DEFENDERS: Richie Laryea (Toronto FC), Derek Cornelius (Marseille), Moise Bombito (Nice) INJ and Alistair Johnston (Celtic)
BENCH: Sam Adekugbe (Vancouver Whitecaps) INJ, Jamie Knight-Lebel (Bristol City) and Luc de Fougerolles (Fulham)

Goalkeeper

STARTER: Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United)
BENCH: Maxime Crepeau (Portland Timbers) and Tom McGill (Brighton)
IN THE HUNT: : James Pantemis (Portland Timbers) and Jonathan Sirois (CF Montreal)