CF Montréal deserve some kind of break on the injury front, but the hits just keep coming.

Canadian men’s national team centre-back Kamal Miller, an integral part of the team’s defence, will miss this weekend’s game against the Philadelphia Union, head coach Hernán Losada confirmed on Wednesday, per 985 Sports‘ Jeremy Filosa.

Miller was absent from training on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has started all three of CFM’s games so far in 2023 and the last time he was completely absent from a matchday squad in MLS was July 2022. However, Losada said that Miller played through calf pain in last weekend’s defeat to Nashville SC, per RDS reporter Nicolas Landry.

For Losada’s side, who are shipping goals with alarming regularity, losing a starting centre-back will be a huge blow. They do at least have the silver lining of the fact that Miller’s fellow CanMNT centre-back Joel Waterman is now fit after making his first appearance of the season in Nashville.

But Miller is far from Losada’s only keenly felt absence.

Attacking midfielder Matko Miljevic and new central defensive signing George Campbell are yet to feature for the Quebec club this season due to a torn meniscus and an ankle injury, respectively, while starting goalkeeper James Pantemis was injured in the season opener. Campbell’s fellow winter arrival Jules-Anthony Vilsaint is ill, while young Icelander Róbert Thorkelsson will likely not be ready to step in for Miller at centre-back.

Meanwhile, new captain Samuel Piette‘s groin problem kept him out of the Nashville loss, during which winger Lassi Lappalainen was also struck down with injury. Piette has trained lightly for the last two days and Losada is hopeful that both will be fit to play some part this weekend, as well as Romell Quioto.

Montreal need to find improvement, and they need to find it fast. If they’re to do it against the Union this Saturday, it will have to be without Miller.