There are many U.S. men’s national team players currently shining in their club seasons, but others are currently on the sidelines waiting for their opportunity to get back playing regularly.
Chris Richards, Gio Reyna, and Sergino Dest are just three of several players abroad who are out of the mix with their clubs. Both Richards and Reyna are fighting their way back in England and Germany respectively while Dest remains out long-term.
Several others are back in training, with game action right around the corner.
Here is a closer look at the expected return dates for the injured USMNT contingent:
Chris Richards
One of the centerbacks fighting to be part of the USMNT’s long-term picture will unfortunately have to wait until 2025 to represent on the international level.
Chris Richards isn’t expected back for Crystal Palace until late-November, manager Oliver Glasner confirmed earlier this month. Richards is out with a hamstring injury, which has also cost him crucial minutes in the Eagles backline.
The Alabama native has made six combined appearances this season, but will be stuck on that number for at least four-to-five more weeks.
Gio Reyna
Gio Reyna is on pace to return to the Borussia Dortmund plans in the coming weeks.
A re-aggravation of a groin strain has kept Reyna on the sidelines in Germany, which also forced him to miss Mauricio Pochettino’s first USMNT camp in charge. Reyna has made just one appearance for the Black and Yellow this season, continuing what has been a frustrating spell for the 21-year-old attacking midfielder.
Reyna has the talent to make a difference for Dortmund this season, but he needs to put a healthy string of performances together first before anything.
Sergino Dest
Don’t expect to see Sergino Dest back in 2024.
The USMNT fullback tore his ACL back in April which has sidelined him ever since. Dest missed the Copa America this past summer, as well as PSV’s unbeaten start to the Eredivisie campaign.
The 23-year-old did make the move to Eindhoven permanently from Barcelona which provides a great chance to play regularly. However, he will have to wait until the second half of the season to do so.
Folarin Balogun
Another USMNT player set to miss the November CONCACAF Nations League window is striker Folarin Balogun.
Balogun is set to be sidelined until late-November due to a shoulder injury suffered on October 4. The injury came at the worst time for Balogun, who was just starting to hit his stride in Ligue 1.
He had scored in three of last four appearances before suffering the injury against Rennes.
Balogun’s absence opens the No. 9 door once again for others in the USMNT pool.
Kevin Paredes
Wolfsburg should have the services of Kevin Paredes back before the November international break.
Paredes suffered an ankle injury in mid-August prior to the start of Wolfsburg’s competitive schedule. After delivering a strong showing at the Summer Olympics, the former DC United academy product was expected to play a big part for Wolfsburg this season.
Wolfsburg have struggled a bit through its opening eight league matches this fall, meaning Paredes’ return could be a welcomed one.
Caleb Wiley
Strasbourg will certainly welcome back the services of Chelsea loanee Caleb Wiley.
Wiley, who is on a season-long loan in Ligue 1 this season, is also expected back before the November international break. The former Atlanta United homegrown registered one assist in three league appearances after arriving from Chelsea, showing his versatility in the squad.
Another player fighting to be part of the USMNT plans in 2025, Wiley will have his time to shine.
Luca De La Torre
Luca De La Torre could also be part of the USMNT’s plans this November.
De La Torre has been out of action since the September international window after suffering an ankle injury. The Celta Vigo midfielder scored in a 2-1 friendly loss to Canada before also featuring against New Zealand.
However, he hasn’t featured for Celta Vigo since late-May, which is a worrying sign as the team sits 11th in La Liga.
Dante Polvara
Aberdeen has enjoyed a positive start to the Scottish Premiership campaign and will certainly want Dante Polvara back sooner rather than later.
Polvara enjoyed a breakout 2023-24 campaign for the Dons, scoring four goals and adding five assists in 40 combined appearances. However, a hamstring injury during preseason camp forced Polvara to the sidelines this summer, a spot where he’s remained since.
He’s expected to be back after the November international break, which is good news for Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin. Aberdeen has seven matches in December, which could be what makes or break them in the title race.
Daryl Dike
A recent hamstring setback has sidelined Daryl Dike once again.
Dike had been fighting to get back to first-team play with West Bromwich Albion after a torn Achilles last February. However, Baggies boss Carlos Corberan confirmed the latest setback for Dike, keeping him sidelined a bit longer.
It is undetermined when Dike will return to action, but West Brom will certainly hope he can play a part in the second half of the EFL Championship campaign.
John Brooks
John Brooks’ second debut with Hertha Berlin could come as early as next week.
Brooks returned to the German club this summer as a free agent signing. However, the veteran defender suffered an ankle injury on September 5, which has kept him out of action since.
The 31-year-old centerback is a welcomed return to the Hertha Berlin defense, who will aim to be part of the promotion picture in the 2. Bundesliga by season’s end.
We need Richards, Balogun and Dest back fully fit ASAP to take the USMNT to the next level, but with that being said I hope they take the necessary steps to rest / recover 100% before jumping back into action. A lot of athletes return too quickly without being close to 100% (both mentally and physically) and that only leads to more injuries down the line of their careers.
i get there are competitive pressures but literally no one off this list should be rushed back into the NT selection. we don’t need this that bad. we didn’t need copa that bad either. we should really only take risks on world cups.
a lot of the pressure to bring back this bunch quickly comes from a fairly static, conservative roster analysis where the october results came from playing B/C teamers. my riposte is this is not college football or the NFL after the trade deadline. if A teamers are out and B/C are underwhelming, the obvious way out of just dutifully pouting while you drive over the cliff, is try some fresh faces, some of whom might be the A-substitute you needed.
but if you mindlessly run sargent and zendejas and ream out there some more, the results will start to look as B/C as they do. and you will wish against good sense to run the A back out there too fast.
you do not find the guys who can step in, in these situations, if you close off the pool and tell yourself it’s fully scouted and sorted. and based on our results i wouldn’t trust any conclusions this “brain trust” has reached. not who should be in, not who isn’t worthy. good way to get fired is accept the same personnel got GB run out of town.
Although that sounds great in theory we pretty much know what the d,e,f teams will do don’t we? Like this isn’t 1990 and you need a giant satellite dish watching graining videos of Peter Vermes at Volendam. There are a few exceptions Campbell, Koleosho if he decides to commit, that we haven’t seen and are intriguing with their clubs. I agree if they weren’t playing last weekend they probably shouldn’t be brought in. Certainly if they don’t play this weekend. You have guys who missed last camp who are back fit Weah, Fossey, McKennie, Cowell, CCV, Johnny, and Yow. That’s 7 guys or 1/3 of the field players.
Muscle injuries usually are just a question of rest. I don’t understand Balogun’s shoulder injury. If it is a separation, then that usually results into two categories. Bad injury means surgery and then maybe 4-6 weeks. Non surgery separation is usually just a rest of 2 to 4 weeks. If it is a jammed shoulder, then it’s about 4-6 weeks ( i have had one of those). Whatever the situation, I don’t understand why Balogun has been out so long. It shouldn’t be that difficult an injury. Of the injured players, Dest is the most problematic. An achilles tear used to be career ending, but nowadays most can play again. Still, he may not be at the same level.
I’ve read Balo was seen warming up with the team this past weekend- his manager says he is progressing faster than expected.
i did see that, reportedly still slated for same return schedule
I think Dest had an ACL tear, not a achilles injury, at least I hope so bc there is a big difference between the two in terms or recovery and the ability to return to a previous standard!
first, i think you’re conflating the minimum to possibly heal with the amount that ensures you come back healthy. i pulled a hammy one january and i wasn’t fully well until the next fall. i was out the standard 4, played a couple games fine, repulled it at the end of a game where i scored 2 and set up the other. done for the year. what healed it? being done for the year. i forgot about it, honestly sat around a bunch, by august when practice started, gone.
different muscle, i sit the minimum. i never have another issue.
second, along those lines, surely there is a rate of reinjury the sports medicine folks have worked out. x% hammy repulls, y% quads, z% calves. brief poking around i saw one article saying 30% recurring hammy issues.
to me the issue goes something like this. you sit for a month. maybe some limited work end of the month. you lose all fitness. you are back to preseason mode. to me you have to break through a threshold of fitness and healing to not just redo it over and over. the shutdown itself makes it harder.
to me there should be more work on building to a higher level of fitness, where you are in great shape, before you are back to bursts and lateral cutting and such. my experience you will be fine in a straight line when you control when you stop and go, including wind sprints once it’s healing. what gets you is the fast twitch stuff, the unexpected. except “that’s soccer.”
to me they should have people on fitness work longer to ensure they are well past the threshold, but the temptation is to throw them on as soon as they can do some running without an issue. but running, even fairly hard, on your own schedule, is only part of soccer, and not what usually yanks the muscle, not after the first week or so of healing. what gets you is that defender is on your back and you figure it out last second and quickly cut. or you have to stay with someone trying to run by, and you can’t control the footrace., they do. etc.
i still think it turns out best if you’re basically shut down a while and naturally heal, then are slowly worked up to excellent shape so you get through the threshold. no rushing you to the field. no illusions that a few self-started windsprints mean you’re fine.