New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph will miss Saturday night's visit to San Jose with a right hip flexor strain.

Joseph missed the first two matches of the season with the same injury and aggravated the existing knock during last Saturday's 4-1 victory over Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium.

After watching Joseph spend the week doing recovery work instead of training with the first team, New England coach Steve Nicol said the influential midfielder wouldn't accompany the Revs as they traveled to the Bay Area on Thursday.

“We're not going to take a chance on him,” Nicol told MLSsoccer.com on Thursday morning.

With Joseph set to miss out for the third time in four games, the Revolution will face increased pressure to keep the ball against the Earthquakes. Joseph serves as the touchstone in the center of the park and fuels his side's ability to connect through midfield. In the two matches Joseph has missed this season, New England has struggled to possess the ball consistently.

Although Joseph plays an integral role in how the Revolution want to play, New England defender Cory Gibbs said the Revs have shown they can produce results – including a 2-0 victory at D.C. United  earlier this month – without Joseph in the lineup.

“Shalrie's a big dimension of our team and of our style of play,” Gibbs said. “It affects our style a bit, but we have players ready to step in who can fill the role and who have done well, as we saw in D.C.”

Pat Phelan will likely replace Joseph in the starting XI after dropping to the bench to accommodate the veteran midfielder's return against TFC.