Tyler Adams out 2-to-3 months with knee injury, could miss USMNT's final international window before World Cup
U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams’ knee injury will sideline him for two-to-three months, curtailing his Bournemouth season and jeopardizing his availability for the last international window before the World Cup squad is selected.
Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola announced Friday that Adams tore an MCL during a challenge in the early moments of the 4-4 draw against Manchester United on Monday. At the time of the injury, the Premier League club suspected an MCL injury but didn’t know the severity.
“He will definitely be out for some time,” Iraola said. “From our previous experience with MCL injuries, it is normally around two or three months. It’s a big blow because he is an important player for us. Straight away, when you see the mechanism of the injury and the action itself, we felt it could be something serious.”
Beset with injuries the past three years, Adams has rebounded to start 15 of Bournemouth’s 16 league matches this season. His only absence came because of a yellow card suspension this month. He has scored twice and added one assist.
“Tyler is very valuable for us and very unique in what he does,” Iraola said. “We do have options [in defensive midfield], but it’s true that Tyler is difficult to replace.”
The 2022 U.S. World Cup captain has not played for the national team since the September friendlies against South Korea and Japan. He missed the October window to remain in England with his pregnant wife and withdrew from last month’s window because of a concussion suffered in the last Bournemouth match before he was scheduled to report to U.S. camp.
This knee injury could force Adams to miss the friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in late March in Atlanta — the final camp before Mauricio Pochettino names his World Cup squad in late May.
Such an absence certainly would not disqualify him from the World Cup. Even if he’s out until late March, he would have more than six weeks to reclaim his place in Bournemouth’s lineup. If healthy and in form, he would seem almost certain to be part of Pochettino’s 26-man World Cup roster.
In Adams’ absence this fall, Pochettino’s partnerships in defensive midfield featured Tanner Tessmann, Aidan Morris, Cristian Roldan, James Sands and Sebastian Berhalter.