Midfielder Giovanni Reyna and forward Timothy Weah remain uncertain for the United States’ next three World Cup qualifiers, which start Jan. 27 with a match against El Salvador at Columbus, Ohio.
Reyna has not played in any matches since injuring his right hamstring during the opening qualifier at El Salvador on Sept. 2. He dressed for the first time since then when Borussia Dortmund played Saturday at Eintracht Frankfurt but did not get into the match.
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Weah, who scored in the 1-1 draw at Jamaica in a November qualifier, injured a thigh during training with Lille on Dec. 3, two days after his last match.
“With Gio and Tim, it’s too early to tell,” coach Gregg Berhalter said Monday. “We have 14 days until they come to camp, and those 14 days will be important.”
Major League Soccer players are training at national team camp in Phoenix through Jan. 21, and several of them will travel to Columbus, where Europe-based players report Jan. 24.
Midfielder Weston McKennie and defender Miles Robinson return from one-match suspensions caused by cards.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, midfielder Tyler Adams, defenders John Brooks and DeAndre Yedlin and forward Jordan Pefok carry yellow cards from the first eight qualifiers and would face a one-match suspension with an additional yellow card.
“What we’ve learned is expect the unexpected,” Berhalter said. “You never know who is going to be available to play in each game. You have to be willing to adapt.”
The U.S. plays at Canada on Jan. 30 and hosts Honduras on Feb. 2 at St. Paul, Minnesota. With six games per team left, Canada leads with 16 points, followed by the U.S. (15), Mexico and Panama (14 each), Costa Rica (nine), Jamaica (seven), El Salvador (six) and Honduras (three).
Source : espn
