Vancouver Whitecaps forward Kei Kamara will miss at least the next three matches with a groin injury, coach Carl Robinson has confirmed.
Kamara, who suffered the injury in training last week, will likely be out until Vancouver's May 11 matchup with the Houston Dynamo.
"It's not ideal," Robinson said after the Whitecaps' practice on Monday. "Any team that losses a key player, and Kei is a key player for us, is going to be affected.
"Losing Kei is a big blow, but we have to find solutions now to deal without him."
Kamara said the injury came as a surprise but added he's on the road to recovery.
"When I went down it was kind of shock to myself," said Kamara. "I feel a lot better today than when I first went down like I had been hit by a sniper."
In his first season with the Whitecaps, the Sierra Leone international has accounted for five goals in the young season, scoring three times and providing two assists.