BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- In the mind of Chicago Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos, even the team's captain will have to earn his starting spot back.

Fire defensive midfielder Logan Pause has missed the last several weeks because of a hamstring injury, paving the way for Daniel Paladini and Corben Bone to take starting roles in the central midfield for the past three matches.

Pause trained heavily on Thursday and appears to be nearing a return, perhaps this Saturday when the Fire (1-3-5) travel to Philadelphia (4-3-2). But De los Cobos said that he is going to continue with the midfield he has penciled in over the past several weeks, even if Pause is ready to go.

"I want to keep the guys who are playing because they are making a good job," said De los Cobos, whose team has posted a 0-0-3 mark during Pause's absence. "Logan is always important for me. For that reason, he is our captain. He was three weeks out and the team is playing good. I always need Logan. I think he's a good leader with the group. I'm sure that he's a smart person and a smart guy, and he understands the situation. He will work for returning to play."

The situation is an intriguing one because Pause is a midfielder heavily known for his defensive prowess versus any offensive contribution. Paladini and Bone are polar opposites of Pause and Michael Videira.

While Paladini and Bone do not come close to bringing the experience that Pause does, their attack-driven styles certainly appear to mesh more closely with De los Cobos' desires.

However things pan out, the humble captain Pause has been satisfied with the Fire's central midfield during his absence.

"I think they've done well," Pause said. "I think there have been times throughout the game where we've controlled the game through the center. It is a process and I think one of the good things that we've seen is improvement. If you just look at a guy like Corben Bone, over the last couple games, you've just seen the steady growth. He's getting this experience, and technically he offers something, a different dynamic to our team.

"So I'm happy for those guys. And those guys, more than I can even say, deserve an opportunity to play. I'm proud of them. I think they've done very well with the opportunity."

It is unclear if Pause will be an available option for Saturday's match, but following Thursday's training he thought the hamstring was in good shape.

"The hamstring's doing great, continues to progress," Pause said. "I've been easing in, and obviously let the reigns loose training [Thursday]. No issues, so if you're asking me now, it feels 100 percent."

While Pause has been out of the fold, De los Cobos has utilized a starting lineup that has been dominant in possession, but still has not produced any noteworthy results. Chicago continues to sit toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference, with the second-place Philadelphia Union next on the docket.

Pause has only been able to sit and watch during a winless streak that has now reached seven games (0-3-4). And how he fits in when fully recovered remains to be seen.

"I'm not quite ready to be on the sideline full-time," Pause said with a smile. "It definitely changes the perspective, but it also allows me to be a little more in tune with helping some of the other guys. ... It allows me to sit back and change perspective. But I hope it's not helping yet. I hope me off the field is not helping yet."

Conway still gets nod: Jon Conway, who had a gaffe that led to Toronto FC's second goal in a 2-2 draw last week, will continue to be the Fire's starting goalkeeper. Sean Johnson recently was out with a quad injury, and he lost his starting job to Conway about a month ago. De los Cobos has been pleased with Conway's overall performance and will continue to roll with the veteran goalkeeper.

"He had an accident on the second goal, but he made a great save when we were losing, 2-1," De los Cobos said of Conway. "He made a great save for the team and the situation gave us an opportunity to tie after. Jon is playing good. Sean is a good player, a young guy and he's learning. But for now, I'm very satisfied with the performance of Jon Conway."