The Vancouver Whitecaps are getting a much-needed boost as they prepare to enter a busy stretch of their season, with four matches in 11 days, which includes three straight MLS road matches.
Not only were Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter back at Whitecaps training on Tuesday following Gold Cup duty with the U.S. national team, but there was a Ryan Gauld sighting.
The Scottish international was back on the pitch and has advanced to the next stage of his reintegration from injury.
Gauld back on the pitch
It has been exactly four months since Gauld suffered a left knee capsule sprain on March 8. On Tuesday, Gauld took a massive step in his recovery process, as the Whitecaps captain did some light running around the pitch and followed that up with some ball work touches.
#VWFC training on a wonderful sunny morning in Vancouver.
Ryan Gauld and Liam Mackenzie doing some light work with the ball on the field.
Berhalter and White are back from international duty.
Cubas, Bovalina are not training.
Caps vs #ForValour on Wednesday.#CanChamp pic.twitter.com/LmItf3DrPo
— Har Journalist (@HarJournalist) July 8, 2025
This is the first time that Gauld has progressed to light running and working with a ball since late May. Gauld did not have cleats on as he glided through the drills off to the side.
The 29-year-old was moving with precision and did not appear to be favouring his knee. Gauld was all smiles when he finished the 20-minute session and went inside to work in the gym.
Progress mode. 📈 @RyanGauld #VWFC pic.twitter.com/Osan1ndfQ9
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) July 8, 2025
Daily Hive exclusively spoke to coach Jesper Sørensen for his instant reaction.
“It was very exciting,” Sørensen said. “Always nice to see our players on the pitch, and Ryan hasn’t been there for a while. It was great to see him out here.
“There can’t be anything negative about it, him being outside, it’s not just because it’s summer. It’s great that he can be out here and able to move. You could see the speed he moved in was higher than I’ve seen for many months.
“I think that was great.”
The speed and the way that Gauld moves will be closely monitored, as Sørensen wants to make sure that Gauld isn’t feeling any knee pain in the coming days.
It seems Whitecaps fans who questioned whether Gauld would miss the remainder of the MLS season can breathe a sigh of relief, as Sørensen is optimistic that he’ll return.
“What we don’t want is a setback for him,” Sørensen told reporters last week. “We want to build him up. The amount of time he’s been out, he will need a pre-season to get back into shape. The most important thing is that we get a strong Ryan back. It’s not how fast we get him back, it’s when he’s back that he’s strong, and has the quality that we all know he has. No, he’s not ruled out for the season, and I will not expect him to be out for the season.”
Pedro Vite transfer rumours
The rumour mill has been churning with a report out of Mexico that Pedro Vite could be on the move to Liga MX side, Pumas UNAM.
The Ecuadorian is due a raise on his current salary of $729,997, and he has been working on a contract extension with Vancouver. Nothing has been formally announced by the club, and Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.
Different experiences for White and Berhalter
The Whitecaps duo that featured at the Gold Cup for the U.S. had different experiences on the pitch.
Berhalter was an integral part of the U.S. run to the final, as the midfielder played 90 minutes in five of six matches, while White played just a total of nine minutes.
The match fitness levels of both players will be watched as Vancouver looks to integrate them back into the team. Both players will be available for selection on Wednesday night vs. FC Valour in the second leg of the Canadian Championship quarterfinal match at BC Place.
Cubas injury update
Andres Cubas will not play on Wednesday night. The tough tackling Whitecaps defensive midfielder remains sidelined with an ankle injury that he suffered on June 29 against LAFC. Cubas continues to work in the gym and has not returned to the training pitch with his teammates.
It’s too early to tell if Cubas will be back on Saturday when Vancouver plays at Colorado.
“Hopefully, but we have to see about that,” Sørensen said.
“Jayden’s red card was stupid”
The Canadian international will not be available on Saturday as he serves a one-game suspension for a second yellow card that was shown to him on July 1. Already on a yellow card, Nelson lost his composure and booted the ball into the LA Galaxy stands.
Sørensen certainly did not shy away from criticizing the 22-year-old Canadian.
“Jayden’s red card was stupid,” Sørensen said post-game. “You have to keep cool, and if you’re not good enough, you have to train and not take stupid red cards because now he will get suspended, and it doesn’t help anybody. That’s just stupid, and we have to learn from that.”
The Whitecaps are 11-4-5 on the campaign and currently sit in second place in the MLS Western Conference with 38 points. Vancouver is one point behind San Diego for top spot in the West, with a game in hand, and a match against San Diego on July 19 in California.