Toronto FC players, including captain Dwayne De Rosario, could be released from their national team duties after Saturday's friendly against Peru. The Major League Soccer team is fighting for a playoff spot. (Canadian Press)

Canadian coach Stephen Hart says he will likely excuse three Toronto FC players from the national team's soccer friendly against Honduras in Montreal next Tuesday.

Dwayne De Rosario, Julian de Guzman and Nana Attakora are expected to see action for Canada in Saturday's game against Peru in Toronto.

But Hart says if his roster escapes injury, he will free up the three Toronto FC players after the weekend game so they can rejoin their MLS team for a contest in Chicago next Wednesday.

"It's been an ongoing discussion and we're going to try and see if we can accommodate that," he told a media conference call Wednesday.

Should that happen, Hart said he would not summon any additional players.

Toronto, which plays in Dallas on Saturday, is in the hunt for an MLS playoff berth and midfielders De Rosario and de Guzman and defender Attakora are key players.

Hart noted the three from TFC are the only MLS players in the squad who could miss two games with their clubs.

D.C. United defender Dejan Jakovic will join the national squad later this week because of his club's Wednesday night's U.S. Open Cup semifinal with the Columbus Crew.

Hart is juggling requests from other clubs to go easy on their players during their national team stint.

"It's not only TFC," he said, citing European clubs without identifying them.

"In exhibitions we try to accommodate (the requests) as best as we can," he said diplomatically.

The hope is the clubs will return the favour down the road when the international games count and Hart needs all his top talent.

"You also have to respect the player as well. This is where they earn their bread and butter," the coach added, referring to their clubs. "You don't want to make their life difficult for them when they go back to their club."

Canadian captain Paul Stalteri will tie Randy Samuel's record of 82 caps if he plays Saturday. But Hart wouldn't confirm the 32-year-old Borussia Moenchengladbach fullback would break the record on this trip, saying he doesn't offer guarantees to any player that they will see action.

"I told him when he was coming in, I'm not making any promises that he will be involved in both games," Hart said. "And he came in knowing that quite well."

Hart was complimentary about his captain, however.

"Paul's been fantastic in the sense that he's always answered the call for Canada," Hart said. "Certainly while I've been there. There's never been any discussion about not coming in.

"If he does play in both games and gets the record, all credit to him."

Stalteri made his senior team debut 13 years ago in a 1-0 loss to Iran in Toronto.

Asked about who might captain Canada if Stalteri did not start both games, Hart said defender Kevin McKenna was one possibility having shown leadership on and off the field.

"There are other individuals as well. But at this moment, that's the least of my worries."

Canada is winless in its last seven matches (0-5-2) since defeating El Salvador 1-0 in July 2009 at the Gold Cup.

The Canadian players are having to contend with extreme heat at their training base north of Toronto, where Wednesday's high was 32 degrees but felt closer to 39 degrees.