Back in late July and early August - when several Fire players began falling victim to injury - it was assumed that most would be able to return in time for the start of the playoffs.

Now, with the Fire only a couple of days away from the decisive Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series against New England, a few of those players have yet to return or make a significant impact while on the field.

With the Fire getting ready to take on the New England Revolution this Saturday, the time is ripe for an injury update. Here we go... John Thorrington - Out The central midfielder, who hasn't played since August 29th, will miss this weekend's match with a case of athletic pubaglia (English translation: groin pain/sports hernia).

With a whopping six players listed on this week's injury report, the Fire's second bye week of 2009 couldn't have come at a better time. The team is hoping to return at least a few of the players on this week's injury list in time for next Saturday's game at New England and it looks like the team has reason to be hopeful.

Fire defender Tim Ward, who hasn't played since he broke a toe on his left foot way back in the SuperLiga final against Tigres, will undergo surgery today to fully repair the injury. Apparently, Ward's recovery from the injury wasn't going as well as the Fire would have liked and they decided on Saturday that it would be best for Ward to go in for an operation.