Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 6y

Toronto's Altidore ahead of schedule in recovery from ankle injury - Vanney

TORONTO - Toronto FC manager Greg Vanney says that Jozy Altidore's recovery from a right ankle injury is "a little bit ahead" of schedule, as the striker races to get fit for Saturday's MLS Cup final against the Seattle Sounders (4 p.m. ET, ESPN/WatchESPN).

After first sustaining the injury at the beginning of the year, Altidore reinjured the ankle in second leg of the Eastern Conference finals against the Columbus Crew. The ailment didn't stop the 28-year-old from netting the game-winner to give TFC a 1-0 aggregate victory, but there has been concern ever since as to whether he would recover in time.

That concern increased a bit when Vanney revealed that Altidore didn't participate with the rest of the team in Wednesday's training session, but the TFC manager insisted that Altidore's recovery was going according to plan.

"[Altidore] did what we needed him to do for today, so it was very little on the field," said Vanney. "Most of what he had to do was in the weight room and the training room."

Vanney added that Altidore hadn't sustained any kind of setback, and would train with the rest of the team on Thursday. The Toronto manager also sounded optimistic about Altidore's chances of playing on Saturday.

"He's there, or potentially even a little bit ahead of what we thought he would be," said Vanney about Altidore. "He's in good shape."

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