Weston McKennie was already expected to miss a considerable amount of playing time as he recovers from the broken foot he suffered in February, but anyone hoping to see him back in time for the closing stages of the Serie A season were hit with disappointing news on Sunday.
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri revealed that McKennie will miss the remainder of the current season. McKennie suffered a broken foot back in February in UEFA Champions League play, which will force him to miss this month’s final window of Concacaf qualifying matches.
What remains to be seen is just when he will be able to return to action. He won’t play in the USMNT’s March qualifiers, but if the Americans finish in fourth place in the Octagonal, they could be playing in a World Cup qualifying playoff in June. The USMNT is also slated to begin the Concacaf Nations League this summer.
McKennie has been one of the USMNT’s best performers during World Cup qualifying, featuring in seven of the team’s 11 Octagonal qualifiers. He was SBI’s USMNT Man of the Match in its most recent qualifier, a 3-0 win over Honduras back on February 2.
The Texas native scored four goals in 28 combined appearances for Juventus this season, while also featuring in four different competitions. McKennie’s presence will certainly be missed as the Bianconeri continue their push up the Serie A table. Juventus sits in fourth place on 53 points and also remain in the Champions League and Coppa Italia competitions.
The USMNT returns to World Cup qualifying action on March 24 against Mexico at Estadio Azteca before taking on Panama in Orlando on March 27 and closing out the Octagonal with a trip to Costa Rica on March 30.