MLS Countdown: Timbers' Gleeson says he's ready

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, Apr 20, 2016

The next game for Portland isn’t until next Wednesday, but starting keeper Adam Kwarasey will need about a month to recover from the finger injury he suffered last weekend in a 3-1 defeat of San Jose.

No worries. The backup is raring to go.

“You always have to be ready,” Jake Gleeson told The Oregonian on Tuesday. “This is what you train every day for.”

On Saturday, Gleeson replaced Kwarasey in the 50th minute with the Timbers leading, 2-0, after the starter jammed his finger while stopping a low shot. Gleeson didn’t register a save but punched out a pair of crosses before conceding a stoppage-time penalty kick to Chris Wondolowski.

His last appearance also came as a surprise. He stepped in against Vancouver for the first game of the Western Conference semifinals last November and registered three saves in a 0-0 tie, after which Kwarasey returned to the lineup and Portland rolled to its first MLS Cup title.

Gleeson, 25, joined the Timbers U-23 team in 2010 after drawing notice playing for his native New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He played four MLS games in 2011 and for the past four seasons has tended goal for the Timbers 2 reserve team.  He was in goal for Portland’s final preseason game Feb. 21, a 1-0 defeat of Real Salt Lake.

The third keeper listed on the Timbers’ depth chart is Wade Hamilton, who has started all four games for T2 this season, including a 1-0 victory over Sacramento on Sunday. The Timbers play New England next Wednesday. 

Kwarasey joins a long list of injured Timbers who have not trained recently, though defender Liam Ridgewell, sidelined by a strained hamstring, could get back on the field this weekend. Midfielder Darlington Nagbe trained for the first time Tuesday since suffering a sprained ankle in a crunching tackle by the Galaxy's Nigel de Jong April 10. 

If Nagbe is ready to go against the Revs, he'll replace playmaker Diego Valeri, suspended for a second caution issued during a late-match melee in the Quakes' game.