Khano Smith flies out tomorrow to start his new life in Major League Soccer.

And the Bermudian striker could see action as early as Sunday when the New England Revolution reserve side take on Chicago Fire at the Gillette Stadium.

The former Dandy Town player, picked up by the Revs after impressing ? and scoring ? in the national team match against the visiting MLS side earlier this year, will begin training with Steve Nicol?s side on Thursday.

Although not expected to be in the starting line-up at first ? the two front places are currently occupied by US internationals Pat Noonan and Taylor Twellman ? Smith could well find himself among the substitutes on Saturday for the first team against the Fire courtesy of the somewhat bizarre squad rules in the MLS.

Continuing their attempts to be unique, the MLS allow home teams to name nine substitutes ? as opposed to five for away teams ? meaning the lanky striker has a good chance of being in a first team squad on home turf as 20 of the 27 players on the roster get a place on the bench.

Even if he does make the first team squad, he would still be eligible to play on Sunday for the second string, who tend to attract crowds of around 300 during their 12-game season.

The following week the Revolution, who sit atop the Eastern Conference standings after their best start to the season in the league?s ten-year history, take on DC United, with the reserve game being played at the Stadium immediately after the first team game.

As well as the reserve league, there are also regular practice games against college teams ? they played Harvard yesterday ? for Smith to use to find his feet in his new life as a pro footballer in America.

His best chance of first-team football will come during the frequent periods when strikers Noonan and Twellman are away on international duty.

Unlike in the European leagues, the US side regularly call up players during the domestic season without causing the league programme to stop, sometimes for lengthy periods, meaning Smith may get promoted as cover.

The first such occasion will come in June, when Smith and players like Jamie Holmes, who scored a hat-trick for the Revolution against Bermuda, get their best chance to shine.

?It is impossible to say at this stage what role Khano will play for us,? said club spokesman Brad Feldman.

?That is up to the coach and there is no predicting how things will work out, although it is unlikely he would be in the starting line-up on Saturday against Chicago.

?We expect to see him join up with us on Thursday and then it is a case of seeing how things go. We are excited about Khano and what he has to offer and look forward to having him join us.?