VANCOUVER -- When Andy OBrien went down with a hamstring injury in Seattle, he did not expect to miss much time. But the recovery took two months. "Its certainly been a bit longer than I wanted it to," said OBrien. "As the weeks went by, I stopped putting a target on what game I would be actually back for." OBrien, who felt like the had been "shot in the leg" when hurt in early June, is expected to make his return to the Vancouver lineup Saturday when the Whitecaps host the San Jose Earthquakes. The 34-year-old Harrogate, England native has missed nine games after he expected to miss just one. "Its good now being able to talk to you about, maybe, being available for the first team," said OBrien following a practice Friday. OBriens return is timely because fellow central defender Brad Rusin is slated to miss the game with an ankle injury. Rusin, injured last weekend in a 1-1 tie at Portland, is out for the third time this season. The 26-year-old Crown Point, Ind., natives absence adds to the ongoing woes of a back line that has battled injuries all season long. OBrien, who signed a one-year contract extension this week, appears unlikely to start. But he could see some minutes off the bench as he eases his way back into action while the Whitecaps prepare for the stretch drive of the season. "Hes been out for longer than we thought, and hes a very important player for us," said Vancouver coach Martin Rennie. "He brings a lot of experience and leadership, so its nice to have him back." Prior to joining the Whitecaps, OBrien, who has overcome a public battle with depression, made nearly 500 appearances with English clubs including Premier League sides Bradford, Newcastle, Portsmouth and Bolton. The dual British-Irish citizen also played in the UEFA Champions League with Newcastle United and was a member of the Republic of Irelands 2002 FIFA World Cup squad. He will provide a calming presence to a club that has seen its string of success start to unravel lately. The Whitecaps have only one point -- from the key draw against Portland -- in the last three games after going unbeaten in six. Heading into this weekends play, the Whitecaps (9-7-6) sit tied for fourth place in the Western Conference but the Earthquakes (8-9-6) can pull even with Vancouver with a victory. Despite their low position, the Earthquakes are not languishing. San Jose has won three games in a row, posting two clean sheets in the process, and finds itself only three points back of the Whitecaps. The Earthquakes have turned their season around since Vancouver native Mark Watson, a former Canadian national team player with 78 international caps, was appointed interim coach. Watson was elevated from his assistants post, a position he has also held with Canadas national mens team. He replaced former coach Frank Yallop, another Vancouverite and former Canadian coach, who parted ways with San Jose in June. Rennie is not putting emphasis on the games significance in the standings. "Looking at the table isnt that important," said Rennie. "Whats really important is how we play and how we go about our job. a You could win three in a row and still be in the same position if other teams win." Meanwhile, Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted will make his second consecutive start after seeing his first action with the club last weekend in Portland. "Im looking forward to coming into B.C. Place and meeting the fans and having my first home game," he said. Ousted, a former Danish Superliga star who signed with the Whitecaps in late June, will be counted on to help the Whitecaps maintain their strong record at home, where they are 7-1-3 this season. One opponent who could test him is striker Chris Wondolowski, who has seven goals in six career games against the Whitecaps. Wondolowski, the leagues most valuable player in 2012, scored two goals for San Jose last week against Chivas USA after missing a month while he was away playing for the American side that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The 31-year-old Danville, Calif., native led the U.S. with five goals. While he attempts to maintain his good form, Ousted hopes a strong home effort will help him earn more starts. "Its important to get into a run of games and get in there and be comfortable with the back four and with the team," said the 28-year-old native of Greve, Denmark. "Its been good for me getting to know the guys, and I hope to play a lot of games from now on." Notes: Whitecaps midfielder Jun Marques Davidson is eligible to return after serving a one-game suspension for head-butting a Philadelphia player July 27, while fellow Caps midfielder Gershon Koffie will return after serving a one-game ban for yellow-card accumulation. a Vancouvers Nigel Reo-Coker and San Joses Steven Lenhart face an automatic one-game suspension for their next yellow cards. a Vancouvers Darren Mattocks continues to recuperate from arthroscopic knee surgery, but has yet to resume training with the team. Fellow striker Kenny Miller will return after missing last weekends game with a groin injury. ... San Jose defender Ty Harden (hip) and Peter McGlynn (undisclosed) are out with injuries. Duke Jerseys From China . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Stitched Duke Jerseys . 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MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal.Sebastian Vettel says F1s cannot be proud of continuing with its elimination qualifying format - a decision Lewis Hamilton has branded strange. The revised knockout format introduced at the Australian GP will remain in Bahrain despite being heavily criticised by drivers, pundits and fans.Ahead of the race in the desert, Vettel used a bizarre metaphor of an ice-cream shop only selling a flavour no one wanted to underline his point. If you sell ice-cream and you sell vanilla ice-cream, but everybody that comes to your shop is asking for chocolate ice-cream and the next day you open and you expect to sell chocolate ice-cream, but instead you sell vanilla ice-cream again, the German said.So usually you do what your clients like you to do, but you are not really doing the job I guess by doing the exact opposite. It is something we cant be proud of. Sky Sports F1s pundits debate whether to scrap the new qualifying format ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. World championship rival Lewis Hamilton admitted it was strange that the little-loved system remained in place for Bahrain.Although team bosses agreed to drop the new format a day after the debacle in Melbourne, the proposal to revert to the 2015 rules was never put to a vote of the F1 Commission. A plan to keep the 90-second eliminations for just Q1 and Q2 was instead put forward, something McLaren and Red Bull voted against. Bahrain GP on Sky Sports TV times and full schedule for this weekends race I heard that all the teams had to agree and some of the teams didnt, which seems a bit weird because, ultimately, its not what the teams feel its what the fans feel and you do whatever is right for the fans, Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ.Formula 1 wouldnt be anything without the fans, so it is very strange. My engineers say its going to be exactly the same, so we shall see. Sometimes you have to try something twice before you realise its the wrong thing, so I guess thats what were going to do. Why Lewis Hamilton has urged motorsports governing body to listen to the fans Haass Romain Grosjean agreed that the Saturday spectacle was unlikely to be any more exciting in Bahrain, saying:: I do not like this format.dddddddddddd. I think none of the drivers do, none of the fans do, none of the media do, but it has been decided to give it another go here. I dont see why it will be massively different, but we have to deal with it.Meanwhile, Vettel was one of the signatories on a letter which criticised how F1s decisions were taken, but he emphasised the letter was not aimed at one individual.Some ideas are not as good as certain others and we had a lot of ideas that were bad and they didnt happen, we had other ideas that were good and they did happen, he said. Marc Priestley is in the hot-seat this week as he and his two guests discuss the matters of the moment in F1 heading into the Bahrain GP I think that is normal when you try to progress. But I think if everybody is against something and you still decide for it, qualifying now is just one example, then something is not right.I dont think you can pinpoint one person in particular, but I think it is clear for all the drivers what we think is wrong and we are happy to help with the future.Our intention was that we really question our current situation, current decision making and hopefully improve that in the future.However, Vettel believes while drivers should have a say in the rule-making process, they shouldnt be responsible for their creation. The F1 drivers react to questions over the release of their GPDA letter We drivers are not here to make the rules. In no sport do the sportsmen make the rules and we dont want to be the ones who decide where the sport is going, he said.We are not asking to be in charge of the rules, there are people in charge and if there are currently regulations in place that stop people doing their job then we should rethink those and change the system.For certain decisions I think it would be beneficial to listen to the drivers as we are the ones driving the car. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here. Also See: Drivers want to be involved Why qualifying hasnt changed NFL Jerseys Cheap Black China NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Hoodies Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Authentic Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys 2019 Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Wholesale NFL T-shirts Cheap Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping China Jerseys Cheap ' ' '