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Antonee Robinson leaves Fulham match with apparent ankle injury

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Antonee Robinson has been one of the top defenders within the U.S. men’s national team pool mduring the early stages of the new European season, but the in-form Fulham left back could not finish Saturday’s match at Tottenham due to an apparent injury.

Robinson left Marco Silva’s starting lineup on Saturday in the 29th minute after suffering a non-contact ankle injury in the first-half. Kevin Mbabu replaced Robinson at left back while the USMNT defender headed to the locker room in frustration and worry ahead of international duty this month.

The 25-year-old had logged 450 minutes during Fulham’s opening five league matches this season, helping in victories over Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford in recent weeks. He did not appear in Fulham’s EFL Cup exit to Crawley Town in August, but has remained a consistent starter following Fulham’s promotion back to the top flight.

“We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see, and then day by day to see how he is,” Silva said postmatch. “Let’s hope that it’s nothing serious and let’s hope he can be ready for next week, but now is too soon to talk about it.”

Robinson has logged 74 combined appearances for Fulham following his arrival at the club in August 2020. He’s also played for Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers in the past.

His role with the USMNT has also taken major strides forward over the past year, earning 29 caps in total and scoring two goals. Robinson was a regular during World Cup Qualifying, helping Gregg Berhalter’s side return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2014.

The USMNT will face Japan and Saudi Arabia on Sept. 23 and 27 respectively in its final pre-World Cup friendlies.

Comments

    • dest can’t go left are you kidding me. dest even going right is saying we think his issues net out ok. dest left can’t defend.

      Reply
      • How much does he look without Brooks behind him though? With Richards or Zimmerman cleaning up. He’s more free to attack. That also loads Pulisic and Serge on one side the opponent has to respect that. I know it’s not your style of play but might still be a plus over last summer Dest LB.

  1. So for all those USMNT fans wringing their hands about Pulisic’s lack of playing time, what happened to Robinson is the downside to being a consistent starter. Soccer players get injured frequently and every minute they are out their is like a mini game of Russian roulette. I have no idea what the optimal number of minutes are for our players but it is definitely not 90.

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    • Injuries happen regardless of it being a WC year or not. This is going to happen to many WC teams. I’m sure Antonee will recover in time unless it’s an Achilles heel issue. Now it’s on Berhalter and other players to make a difference.

      Reply
    • “what happened to Robinson is the downside to being a consistent starter.”

      Nonsense.

      Every single USMNT candidate for the WC team would take the “risk” of being a consistent starter going 90 every game in a heartbeat. And they would be right to.

      MB90 had a pretty good WC career for the USMNT .

      Jedi rolled his ankle. You can do that in training easily, starter or scrub. Or walking around your back yard.
      Spain once lost a goalkeeper leading up to a World Cup when, at home, he dropped a glass or a glass bottle ( I forget which) on or near his bare foot and cut himself badly enough to prevent him from playing. Players should stay away from bathrooms and kitchens.

      Coming into a World Cup physically fresh might not be a bad thing but very few players can afford to take the risk of having someone replace them while they are recovering.

      What if Jedi’s replacement does really well and keeps him out of Fulham’s lineup when Jedi gets back? There’s no guarantee that Jedi comes back as good as he was before.

      Reply

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