Does Beitashour have to earn his starting job back for TFC?

Sportsnet – TORONTO, It’s been a long road back for Steven Beitashour.

But now that Beitashour has returned from a lengthy injury layoff, will he have to earn back his job as a starter for Toronto FC?

Coach Greg Vanney faces an interesting selection choice at the right wingback position as the Reds enter the stretch of Major League Soccer’s regular season: Does he reintroduce Beitashour into the starting 11, or does he opt for continuity by picking Nicolas Hasler?

Beitashour collided with Montreal Impact defender Kyle Fisher in the Canadian Championship final on June 27, and underwent surgery on his pancreas. After close to two months on the sidelines, Beitashour made his return in TFC’s 3-1 road win over the Chicago Fire on the weekend when he subbed in for the last 13 minutes. He ended up replacing Hasler, who scored the go-ahead goal, his first in three games for Toronto since signing with the club as a free agent last month.

Hasler has integrated himself more into the team with each passing contest, and he was by all accounts one of the Reds’ best players in the Chicago win. With this in mind, and considering Beitashour’s recent absence due to injury, don’t be surprised if you see Hasler get the start when Toronto hosts the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night.

“For us with Beita, it’s to continue to take steps to get him back to full fitness. You don’t go from doing nothing for six to eight weeks to being totally match fit,” Vanney said.

“We do want to get Beita up to full fitness and make sure that down the stretch that he’s ready to go. Depending on the game, depending on form, depending on everything else, we’ll see who’s going to get the nod on the day.”

It’s been a long road back for Steven Beitashour.

But now that Beitashour has returned from a lengthy injury layoff, will he have to earn back his job as a starter for Toronto FC?

“For us with Beita, it’s to continue to take steps to get him back to full fitness. You don’t go from doing nothing for six to eight weeks to being totally match fit,” Vanney said.

Cooper was a different player from Johnson and the Panamanian gave TFC a different look, but that didn’t stop Vanney from selecting him over Johnson, who was more of a proven commodity in MLS.

Likewise, Hasler and Beitashour play the same position but go about it in different ways.

“Beita’s [defensive instincts] are his strength. He’s a very good one-on-one defender. He’s a very good at sensing danger early, and cutting it out. That’s his priority,” Vanney explained. “[Hasler] tends to be a little more attacking, and his second strength is defending.”

He later added: “They play [as right wingbacks] differently, so it’s good to have both of them as guys who can play that position in a very competent way.”