The lynchpin of the Portland Timbers defense may be spending the remainder of the MLS offseason playing for another team.
According to a report in The Oregonian, citing anonymous sources, center back Liam Ridgewell will be sent out on a short-term loan to Wigan Athletic. The report indicated the loan, not finalized yet, would keep Ridgewell with the Championship side until late February. Ridgewell's return would coincide with the Timbers' annual preseason tournament starting Feb. 22, meaning he would miss the start of winter camp and their first two preseason games in Tucson, Ariz.
Ridgewell was signed to a Designated Player contract in mid-July last year after spending 11 seasons in the English Premier League with Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion. After arriving in Portland, Ridgewell started 15 matches, recording two goals and an assist while solidifying a defense that had ranked at the bottom of the league through the first half of the season.
The Timbers also recently signed former Real Salt Lake center back Nat Borchers to line up next to Ridgewell in central defense, leaving the two players with a condensed schedule to get on the same page ahead of Portland’s regular-season opener March 7 against RSL.
