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Report: Chandler recovering from “minor” leg injury

Timothy Chandler

Photo by Brad Smith/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Timmy Chandler was a curious omission from the U.S. Men’s National Team’s training session on Wednesday, and now we appear to know the reason for that.

Chandler is recovering from a leg injury that U.S. Soccer officials said is deemed to be minor, according to a report from the Associated Press. It is unclear as to when Chandler sustained the knock, but he is expected to return to full training on on Friday. He missed Wednesday’s open practice and trained individually on Thursday as a result of the leg problem.

The 24-year-old Chandler has been seeing time at left back during the U.S.’s World Cup preparations, but is not expected to unseat veteran incumbent DaMarcus Beasley when the Americans play their first group game vs. Ghana in Natal on June 16.

What do you think of Chandler sustaining a knock that is deemed to be minor? Does this rule out any chance that he could start vs. Ghana? Think he will recover in time to at least be a viable bench option?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I want us to get out of our group so bad. However,I am tired of reading all of the downer comments. I think I know where they come from. If the Americans that happened to grow up in Germany, through no fault of their own play good, just their normal game, then we have a chance. Especially if Julian Green would make a difference.

    I want us to advance so much I hope expat is right and I hope he comes back and says “I told you so”-

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  2. People who should come up injured in the next 24 hours: Davis, Gonzo, and Chandler

    People who should be on a plane in the next 24 hours: Goodson, Evans, landon

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  3. All I know that even with the sabbatical Landon showed 10x more for the US than Chandler who refused every call up. If Landon was a German American in pretty sure he would still be on the squad. Jones n Johnson earned their spot CHandler brooks and green did not and they had it GIVEN to them..I’m still shocked he didn’t pick Boyd over altidore (tongue in cheek)

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  4. Calling in Chandler who only played very poorly for 135 minutes for his club since January is only one of Klinsmann’s several mistakes with this roster. Klinsmann should send him home now before the Sunday deadline for new players and bring in someone healthy. Criminal to keep on the roster an already out-of-form Chandler who was responsible for giving up two goals in the last two games and who now has a knock. If it turns that Chandler’s injury does not heal and he cannot play Klinsmann has to be held accountable for keeping him and for his other outrageous roster decisions like Julian bribe me bribe me f-ing Green who has not played a club game since March.

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  5. I haven’t seen this mentioned much, but does anyone think it might be a good idea to try Chandler as a wide mid? Not as a starter, for sure, but I’d be happier to see him come off the bench in that role than either Green or Davis.

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    • I see him better at rt mid in front of Johnson to stop Rolando and trade in and out. He is a way better attacker and crosser than ” all hard work” zusi or bedoya

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      • Ooh, I hadn’t considered that idea but I like it. I think it was the Slovenia game (the fog game) back in 2011 or 2012 when they played together on the same side of the field and couldn’t be stopped. I like that idea as another layer of protection on that side of the field, and I like it going forward as well.

    • That certainly isn’t a bad idea. He’s better in that role. The problem is that Klinsmann has precious little defensive cover, anyway. Moving Chandler to the midfield, a sound tactical move, would put more strain on an already-questionable defense.

      This is why I don’t like Klinsmann. He can’t build a roster, Donovan or no Donovan. If he plays Beckerman and Jones simultaneously, which is his best tactical move, he has *no* midfield defensive cover on the bench. Outside of Chandler, the other defenders are Gonzalez (can’t play because of injury, confidence shot), Brooks (great potential but hardly any international experience) and Yedlin (ditto).

      This is the man charged with “building” the national program?

      It would have hurt Klinsmann to put Parkhurst, Goodson or Edu on the roster, at least as defensive insurance off the bench? (Brad Evans is not a right back).

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      • I definitely thought Edu should have made it, mainly because he could provide decent cover at a number of positions.

        I specifically called for Chandler off the bench, though, so it wouldn’t really impact our defensive depth. He could be first off the bench for either left side position (and maybe mid or back on the right side). If you brought him in at mid and then Beasley went down, move Chandler to left back and bring in another midfielder.

        I agree that we couldn’t afford to start him at mid, due to lack of depth at left back.

      • Cameron’s not moving out of central defense. He and Besler are the only reliable, proven center backs the U.S. has.

  6. Send home the guy who doesn’t deserve to be there and wouldn’t be if he wasn’t German. Hasn’t helped the US last two years and have a strong suspicion he will be sparse the next four also….

    AND BRING BACK LANDO

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    • Enough with this already. Either your xenophobic, or a moron, either way you should give your keyboard a break.

      I guarantee you if he was born and raised in the US, you would call him our best defender, and calling for him to be on Real Madrid.

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      • Its not Xenophobia if you genuinely dislike a player because they leverage their international allegiance to get the attention of another national team or if you dislike a player because he’s spent his whole career being other national team setups and drops it on a dime to play for the US. The latter seems like a very Anti-American concept.

      • Sorry, I must have missed all that in Uncle Sam’s (the patriot from Amurica) post. My screen says, “he’s only there because he’s German”. An eloquent argument, I give you, but xenophobic none the less.

      • Xenophobia means “fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners.” I think the whole debate about German-Americans being recruited to play for USA is more nuanced than this. You don’t have to hate or fear foreigners to think it’s a bad idea to scour the world for players with a tangential connection to your country in order to place them on your World Cup team. Plus, in Timmy Chandler case, there’s plenty of reason to think he didn’t really care to play for our national team till it was World Cup time.

      • Look, I get why some people are skeptical of him. Frankly, I’m not the biggest fan myself. No where have I said that anyone that doesn’t like him is xenophobic. I am, however, specifically calling out Uncle Sam here for his statement, which 100% is.

      • I don’t see anything xenophobic. He seems to be eluding to the common notion that Klinsmann favored bringing in German players to the US National Pool system, which many believe has come at the cost of other useful or more talented players. Further, that Klinsmann may have a bias towards using these players for some reason – illicit or otherwise. Now, Uncle Sam doesn’t say that specifically.

        But, he clearly does not say he hates Germans or that Germans don’t belong on the squad.

        This Klinsmann era has made it very apparent to me how important it is to have players who care about the country, the badge, the jersey, and what it represents. I’m less interested in players who have to be convinced to play for the US or enticed by World Cup appearances or a coach from their home country.

        That makes me less excited about US Soccer and the team. It is fairly apparent it’s what we have during the Klinsmann era – players from Germany who care more about playing for the US from a soccer perspective rather than a Nationalistic perspective. And, that sits wrongly with me.

      • Mine does not say that.

        “Send home the guy who doesn’t deserve to be there. Hasn’t helped the US last two years and have a strong suspicion he will be sparse the next four also….”

        AND BRING BACK LANDO

        ?

      • Chandler is a smaller, equally dimwitted Omar Gonzo who has 2-3 brain farts a game. Both are American in my mind. Both can play lights out. But both are susceptible to giving away the easiest of goals.

      • This viewpoint is based on a small sample size and is unduly influenced by the last 15 minutes of the Turkey game.

      • I have nothing against German American players per se, I have a problem with the fact that it’s the REASON Klinsi brought him he has refused to suit up when we needed him including the Gold cup final where Churundolo got hurt and then Mexico thrashed us, also do u believe that he will be comitted to the US going forward because my suspicion is that you wont hear from him until the next World Cup.
        Jones and Johnson have earned their spot Green probabaly not but it’s not like he has refused call ups LIKE CHANDLER!!!
        I’m not a xeno phobe I’m a CHandlerwouldntbeontheteamifhewasntgermanandthatsthainreasonklinsibroughthimtotheworldcupaphobe

      • Who’s better…at outside back?

        Beltran? Don’t see it. Parkhurst? Slow…which will get eaten up like s’mores in Group G, who are one and all blazing fast. Brad Evans? Good player…and even slower. Edgar Castillo? Nifty going forwards, a big liability on D, has less catch-up speed than any of the above.

        We don’t exactly have a deep pool at LB. Klinsmann manufactured a solution with Beasley and brought Chandler in as cover because even though he’s a right-footer he’s decent on the left, and has the catch-up speed you need there. Honestly at this juncture I’d feel more comfortable starting Chandler on the left than I would starting DeAndre Yedlin on the right…and I really like Yedlin, I just wonder if he’ll go deer-in-the-headlights on us if he’s tossed in too fast.

        I hope your answer isn’t “Landon Donovan”.

    • ++++1,000. You idiots need to stop calling people xenophobic just because they have an opinion on a player. This kid turned down call-ups. Questioning his commitment to the team is justified.

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