Rimando to Miss United's Opener

Nick Rimando, D.C. United's starting goalkeeper most of the last four years, will miss Sunday's season opener against New York and could be out for several weeks with a foot injury.

Rimando, 26, tore a ligament in his left foot early this month and aggravated the injury during training camp in Charleston, S.C. He is scheduled to be examined further today.

"Another week to two weeks, hopefully less than that," said Rimando, who hasn't ruled out the possibility of needing surgery. "I want to make sure I'm 100 percent healthy before I go out there again."

Troy Perkins, a third-year player who started 16 games in 2004 but made only two appearances last year, will start against the Red Bulls on Sunday at RFK Stadium and seems certain to play April 8 against visiting Chivas USA.

Last year, Rimando finished fourth in MLS in goals against average (1.17) and second in shutouts (11), but didn't play well in United's 4-0 season-ending loss to Chicago in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

After suffering the initial injury this month, Rimando admitted he returned too soon, "so I'm back to step one."

Goalkeepers coach Mark Simpson said Rimando "pushed it a little too far and it set him back a little bit. He'll have a test [today] and we'll see where he is."

Commenting on Perkins, Simpson said: "Troy has looked good in training. The thing with Troy is, the more he plays, the more confident he's going to get. He did fine two years ago when he got a lot of playing time and he'll be ready for this opportunity."

Perkins, 24, has trained informally the last two winters with Bolton and Everton in the English Premier League.

United has only two goalies on its 28-man roster, but Simpson said the team will add a backup for Perkins later this week, possibly a player under contract with MLS who has no club affiliation.

Besides Rimando, United will also be without veteran defender Bryan Namoff for an extended period. Namoff, a starter on the 2004 championship squad, was out for much of training camp with a groin injury.

Last year, Namoff missed half the season with a variety of injuries and had hernia surgery.

Forward Alecko Eskandarian (groin) and forward-midfielder Santino Quaranta (hamstring) have recovered and will be available Sunday.

Soccer Notes: U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena, the keynote speaker at United's kickoff luncheon yesterday, said he plans to name his 23-man World Cup roster on May 2, 13 days before the international deadline.

He also said he expects to name as many as 10 alternates in case of injury during training camp -- which will open May 10 in Cary, N.C. -- or the three friendlies in late May. . . .

Arena and United forward Jaime Moreno are headed to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for an exhibition tomorrow honoring former D.C. star Marco Etcheverry. The former Bolivian national team midfielder is expected to be honored by United this summer.

Moreno will miss three United practices to attend the Etcheverry festivities. Evo Morales, Bolivia's new president, will play for Etcheverry's team. . . .

On the possibility of new investors purchasing United's operating rights, team president Kevin Payne said, "I believe we're reasonably close to having a new ownership group in place soon."

He declined to elaborate, other than to say the group would have strong local ties. A deal for Anschutz Entertainment Group to sell the team's rights to Global Sports and Entertainment collapsed last fall.