U.S. men’s national team striker Ricardo Pepi left Saturday’s 5–1 PSV Eindhoven win over Excelsior Rotterdam with a fractured forearm and will undergo surgery, with his recovery expected to take two months.
The 23-year-old attacker suffered the injury while scoring his side’s second goal of the match in the victory, falling awkwardly to the ground on the goal line after barrelling the ball into the net. It marked his 13th goal of the season, before he was helped off in visible pain.
While the injury comes at a poor time, considering his strong form with the Dutch Eredivisie leaders, he is not expected to miss the 2026 World Cup on home soil, which the USMNT kicks off on June 12 against Paraguay in Los Angeles.
Ricardo Pepi scoort, maar komt verkeerd terecht en moet het veld geblesseerd verlaten 😬#psvexc pic.twitter.com/vXXX3l8PNI
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) January 10, 2026
However, he is now poised to miss the March friendlies against Belgium and Portugal, leaving only the May friendlies as preparation games for the tournament. Previously, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino said the roster for that camp will not include more players than the final roster, leaving Pepi with little time to impress and earn a starting role.
“It didn’t look good right away and at such a moment you would prefer to look the other way,” said manager Peter Bosz, mentioning Pepi’s injury history, which included a serious knee injury in January of the 2024–25 campaign, sidelining him for six months.
“Pepi was on a good run, had a strong training camp and was all the way back. He became more confident and was in that good flow again. All signs were green for a strong second half of the season, so this is incredibly disappointing. First and foremost for him and obviously for us as well.”
Pepi’s injury puts him on a growing list of injured USMNT World Cup hopefuls, which also includes AFC Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams, who will miss the March friendlies.
USMNT Striker Options
Pepi’s injury is a certain blow to Pochettino’s attacking options when it comes to the most in-form players. Still, the USMNT has several strikers and offensive players it can turn to in March and potentially further.
Up top, AS Monaco’s Folarin Balogun scored his eighth goal of 2025–26 in a Coupe de France win against US Orléans and has the inside track to be the USMNT starter in the summer. At the same time, Josh Sargent and Patrick Agyemang have found form in the English Championship, with eight and six goals, respectively, across all competitions.
Following the March friendlies, the USMNT will take on Senegal and Germany in May and June to wrap up World Cup preparations, with Pepi hoping to be back in form and within those plans.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT’s World Cup Preparations Rocked After Star Forward Suffers Dramatic Injury.
