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Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Gonzalo Pineda (8) and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Cristian Techera (13) collide during the first half of a game on Saturday in Seattle. Vancouver defeated Seattle, 3-0.Joe Nicholson

Sam Adekugbe's long wait for more playing time with the Vancouver Whitecaps is about to end.

After being sidelined with an ankle injury since May, the 20-year-old Calgary native is slated to see action Wednesday as the Whitecaps host the Seattle Sounders in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League series at B.C. Place Stadium.

"It would mean a lot," said Adekugbe. "I haven't played a game in three months. So, obviously, if I get the opportunity, it'll be a bit emotional but exciting at the same time. I'm just happy to get back on to the pitch."

Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson has pledged to play the defender as either a starter or substitute. The Whitecaps will test their depth by using a distinctly different lineup than the one that blanked the Sounders 3-0 in a Major League Soccer game Saturday in Seattle.

Vancouver plays eight games in August, including league, Canadian championship and CONCACAF matches. So coach Robinson wants to balance his player fatigue levels while keeping the Caps in contention for all three championships.

"[What] I know I can do is just do the things I can do best on the field – and also show the coaches that I'm ready to go and raring to play," said Adekugbe, who has started all eight games he has played in this season. "I'm feeling pretty healthy. I've been training these last two weeks, and I feel like I'm back into a good rhythm again. Obviously, playing a game is a different story, but I'm feeling very confident right now."

Adekugbe is one of a number of Canadians who have a chance to help the Whitecaps in the competition that will determine CONCACAF's representative in the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup. Midfielder Kianz Froese, 19, who was born in Cuba and raised in Brunkild, Man., is expected to be on the game roster after recuperating from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since mid-July.

"Whether it's a few minutes or 90, it's up to [Robinson], I guess, and I'll be happy with what I get," said Froese.

Another Canadian, 22-year-old Niagara Falls, Ont., native Russell Teibert, is expected to start in midfield after previously seeing limited minutes. Teibert "couldn't be more excited" about the chance to play for the Whitecaps as they compete in CONCACAF Champions League for the first time.

"It's history, and we talk about making history all year long," said Teibert. "This is an opportunity for us to do so. Big chance. Big game."

Vancouver viewed Saturday's rare one-sided victory in Seattle as a big win. However, Sounders coach Sigi Schmid and goalkeeper Stefan Frei felt the Whitecaps showed disrespect by posing for photos with Vancouver fans after the game.

Teibert said "it was nothing towards" their long-time rivals.

"They can take it as an insult if they want, but it just shows them how good of a team they are, that we want to celebrate after we beat them," he said. "I wouldn't take it as an insult if I was them. We tip our hats off to them, because they're a great team."

Despite winning the 2014 MLS regular-season title, Seattle has lost seven of its last eight games and has failed to score in the past four. Teibert predicted the Sounders will bounce back, but added Vancouver's revamped lineup is ready for the challenge.

"Because we're so deep, we're prepared for any competition that's thrown at us," said Teibert.

Notes: Midfielder Marco Bustos, a 19-year-old Winnipeg native, could also see action for the Whitecaps, who have fielded different starting lineups in all but two games. The Sounders acquired attacking Austrian midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz, 31, from Spanish club Levante on Tuesday. Honduran champion Club Deportivo Olimpia is also in Group F with the Whitecaps and Sounders. The Group F winner will advance to the knockout stage in early 2016.

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