Christian Pulisic’s prolonged recovery from the ankle injury he suffered while on U.S. men’s national team duty earlier in September will wind up denying us a Pulisic vs. Weston McKennie Champions League showdown this week, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some other enticing matchups featuring Americans in Europe.
Brenden Aaronson and Tim Weah will be two leading candidates to help fill the potential void left if Pulisic and Gio Reyna can’t recover from their injuries in time for October’s USMNT qualifiers, and Gregg Berhalter will get to see Aaronson and Weah face off when Red Bull Salzburg takes on Lille in Champions League group-stage action.
Another intriguing All-USMNT matchup we could see this week will take place in the Europa League, where Konrad De La Fuente and DeAndre Yedlin could be matched up against each other when Marseille faces Galatasaray on Thursday.
Pulisic has been ruled of Chelsea’s visit to Juventus, while Reyna will miss Borussia Dortmund’s match vs. Sporting Lisbon.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s Americans Abroad action:
UEFA Champions League
Gio Reyna is OUT (hamstring injury) for Borussia Dortmund’s match vs. Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.
Zack Steffen and Manchester City visit Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Tyler Adams and Jesse Marsch and RB Leipzig play host to Owen Otasowie and Club Brugge on Tuesday.
Sergiño Dest and FC Barcelona visit Benfica on Wednesday.
Christian Pulisic is OUT (ankle injury) for Chelsea’s visit to Weston McKennie and Juventus on Wednesday.
Jordan Pefok, David Wagner and Young Boys visit Atalanta on Wednesday.
Romain Gall and Malmo visit Zenit on Wednesday.
Brenden Aaronson and Red Bull Salzburg host Tim Weah and Lille on Wednesday.
John Brooks is OUT (red card suspension) for Wolfsburg’s match vs. Sevilla on Wednesday.
Europa League
Europa League Group Stage
Sam Vines and Royal Antwerp host Timmy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.
Christian Cappis and Brondby visit Lyon on Thursday.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic host Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.
Henry Wingo and Ferencvaros host Real Betis on Thursday.
Mark McKenzie and Genk host Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.
Konrad De La Fuente and Marseille host DeAndre Yedlin and Galatasaray on Thursday.
Europa Conference League
Bryan Reynolds and AS Roma visit FK Zorya Luhansk on Thursday.
Josh Cohen and Maccabi Haifa visit Union Berlin on Thursday.
England
League Championship
Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream and Fulham host Swansea on Wednesday
Ethan Horvath and Nottingham Forest visit Barnsley on Wednesday.
Duane Holmes and Huddersfield play host to Blackburn on Tuesday.
Matthew Olosunde is OUT (Achilles injury) for Preston North End’s match vs. Stoke City on Tuesday.
League One
Lynden Gooch and Sunderland host Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Mexico
Liga MX
Fernando Arce and Necaxa host Club Tijuana on Tuesday.
Adams came on in the 80th minute for RBL. Bodes well for WCQ call up.
i was saying before the game, pick up the phone and call adams and ask him what the actual deal is. are you actually hurt, precautionary with tightness or a twinge, or did the coach and you agree to say you were hurt as some face saving PR statement why you didn’t dress, but you’re fine. the specifics matter. i would say that once he played today, he would be released if we asked, and be good to go at least sub minutes. but ask the kid what the deal is. we need to get out of club-following monkey see monkey do. sometimes the club coaches who we are taking so seriously one season are gone before the next. remember the whole debate over what lampard thought of pulisic? he’s currently unemployed if we want to ask his opinion of our player…..
And Berhalter can rest him the first game if necessary.