Orlando City's Kaka, Ceren return from international duty with injuries

Sitting out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Orlando City is facing some difficult times - the Lions haven't won a game in six matches.

Making matters worse, Orlando's two most influential midfielders, Kaka and Darwin Ceren, returned from international duty with injuries.

Team captain Kaka leaves the biggest hole in Orlando's lineup as he deals with a "minor leg muscle injury" picked up during a pair of international friendlies with Brazil. He is listed as day to day and could miss Orlando's next match.

"We are incredibly disappointed with this recent development for Kaka and for our fans," GM Paul McDonough said in a statement. "He has played 25 games for us so far this season, over 2,100 minutes, without any major issues or concerns. To the contrary, he undergoes one training session and match with the Brazilian national team and he is injured."

Ceren picked up an injury while playing for El Salvador in World Cup qualifying matches.

"International call-ups have been a challenge for us as we are also evaluating an injured Darwin Ceren following his participation with El Salvador," McDonough lamented. "It’s the same thing we faced with Brek (Shea) earlier in the year after he returned from play with the U.S. national team.

"Unfortunately, we are obliged to release these players according to FIFA rules, and then are left to deal with the fallout after the fact. Again, I am very disappointed for our fans and for our injured players.”

Orlando takes on Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, when the task of turning around its miserable form will be much more difficult without two key players.

The club said more information on the status of its sidelined midfielders will be released in the coming days.