Altidore out 6-8 weeks with hamstring injury, will miss Copa America

Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore will miss 6-8 weeks after being diagnosed with a hamstring strain suffered in Saturday's loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the club has announced.

The timeline sees the American forward ruled out of this summer's Copa America Centenario.

Altidore, 26, sustained the ailment while taking a penalty in the Reds' wild 4-3 loss to their Canadian rivals, crumbling to the turf after his spot-kick was palmed away by David Ousted. The imposing attacker went down to a knee and immediately signaled to the sideline that he would not be able to continue, ultimately leaving the pitch and heading straight down the tunnel.

The injury is the latest in a recurring string of hamstring problems that have hampered Altidore throughout his career - and have an unfortunate knack of occurring close to or during major international competitions.

The well-traveled forward injured his hamstring during the 2011 Gold Cup and missed the final of the competition, while the same injury knocked him out of the 2014 World Cup when he was felled early in the United States' opening match against Ghana.

The same problem reared its head again last year, when Altidore's hamstring issues saw him struggling for fitness during the Gold Cup. He was ultimately dropped from the squad by manager Jurgen Klinsmann for the knockout stages of the competition.

The misfiring forward is yet to score a goal for Toronto FC this season, but that didn't stop Klinsmann from including him earlier this month on the Americans' provisional 40-man roster for this summer's Copa America Centenario.

He will now be forced to watch on from afar, however, as fellow strikers Clint Dempsey, Ethan Finlay, Jordan Morris, Christian Pulisic, Chris Wondolowski, Bobby Wood, and Gyasi Zardes battle for the spots in the U.S. attack.