US Soccer confirmed today that attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson will miss the team’s final three World Cup qualifiers with a knee injury.
Aaronson was a late scratch from Red Bull Salzburg’s game over the weekend with what the team stated was a knee problem. Despite rumors on Sunday and Monday initially suggesting he would travel to Houston to link up with Gregg Berhalter’s squad, US Soccer instead confirmed the bad news that he is a late scratch from the roster.
“After reviewing the updated medical information and in consultation with Red Bull Salzburg, it has been determined that Brenden Aaronson will not be available to play in the USMNT’s upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches,” US Soccer announced.
This only adds to the mounting injury woes on the team, which is already forced to make do without expected starters Weston McKennie, Sergiño Dest and Chris Richards.
Aaronson had been in fine form for Salzburg since they came out of their winter break in mid-February.
Most notably, he likely added a few million Euros to the transfer price that some deep-pocketed team will have to pay for his services in the summer transfer window, after setting up both of Salzburg’s goals in their recent loss to FC Bayern in the Champions League Round of 16.
Salzburg still have domestic games on the schedule until late-May, so the 21 year-old attacker could still play some role in their all-but-certain title run and likely Austrian Cup victory in the coming weeks.
Gregg Berhalter’s squad will have their first qualifier on Thursday night, at Mexico’s Azteca Stadium, with all eyes on how the coach will adjust his approach to account for the missing players.
