It’s probably for the best for the U.S. men’s national team that the World Cup is not taking place in the summer.
Between injuries, dips in form and extended runs of poor form for some core players on the club level, matches against England, Iran and one of Scotland/Wales/Ukraine would look a lot more daunting if they were occurring in two months as opposed to seven.
The latest hit comes in the form of an injury to center back Chris Richards, who is set for “a long spell on the sidelines” with a muscle tendon injury in his right thigh. Richards had just come back for German club Hoffenheim from an ankle injury suffered during a U.S. World Cup qualifier in Canada in late January, but his season is over following the latest setback.
Richards spent the season on loan at Hoffenheim—his second spell with the club on loan from Bayern Munich—but extended his Bayern contract to 2025 before doing so. He had made three appearances for Hoffenheim after missing two months in recovery, but now it’s back to the shelf for the Alabama native.
“This is a very bitter diagnosis, as Chris had only just worked his way back into the team following a long injury lay-off due to a persistent ankle problem,” Hoffenheim sporting director Alexander Rosen said in a statement. “We of course wish him all the best.”
The 22-year-old Richards made 21 appearances for Hoffenheim this season (19 in the Bundesliga, two in the DFB Pokal) and was part of the U.S. World Cup qualifying effort for three of the five windows of the Concacaf Octagonal. He started four qualifiers and came on as a stoppage-time substitute vs. Mexico in November. He’s very much in the mix for the U.S.’s final World Cup roster as part of a center back depth chart currently topped by the likes of Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson.
It’s hard to envision him taking part in the U.S.’s June window—two friendlies, including one against Morocco, and two Concacaf Nations League group matches—which is the penultimate time the team will gather before the World Cup in November and December in Qatar. Had the World Cup been staged at its normal summer window, Richards would likely be unavailable—and he’s not alone. Gio Reyna is also back on the shelf for the long term after a recurrence of the hamstring injury that derailed his season. Goalkeeper Matt Turner has yet to feature for the New England Revolution this season after suffering a foot injury, while winger Brenden Aaronson has been out for more than a month after suffering a knee injury in a match warmup for Salzburg.
But for the U.S.—the lack of remaining available reps between now and November notwithstanding—the concerns go beyond current injuries and who will be available this summer. There’s the matter of Zack Steffen, the presumed U.S. starting goalkeeper, whose general inactivity and ill-advised actions in an FA Cup defeat to Liverpool have thrown his outlook into question.
And then there’s the constant issue of goalscoring from those whose chief objective is to do just that. Ricardo Pepi still hasn’t scored for Augsburg. Josh Sargent’s two-goal breakout vs. Watford has remained the exception and not the rule. Christian Pulisic has reverted to more of a reserve role for Chelsea and hasn’t scored since his heroic hat trick vs. Panama in the U.S.’s penultimate qualifying match. Tim Weah’s last goal was in November, and he hasn’t scored at all for Lille this season.
Among U.S. players who have regularly been involved over the last year, only Jesús Ferreira (tied for MLS lead with five goals), and Jordan Pefok (Swiss league-leading 19 goals, including one in each of his last two games) are in any sort of regular scoring form, but their club form hasn’t consistently translated to country, albeit in a small sample size.
The good news for the U.S. is that, even though the team gatherings will be limited before the World Cup begins, there are five more months than usual to get all this sorted. Form can be temporary and injuries can be overcome. But there are certainly a lot more issues than desired that need ironing out if the U.S. is to arrive in Qatar with its top possible squad available in its top possible form for the three (or more) matches that will define this slice of time for this up-and-coming group.
