In comments made over the weekend, USMNT and Juventus star midfielder Weston McKennie directly confirmed that an April return to the field for the Italian giants is his current target.
The 31-times capped USA international clarified his current health situation shortly after the groups for the 2022 World Cup were set on Friday. In his comments, he confirmed earlier reports that his recovery is progressing in a way that could have him back on the field earlier than originally expected.
“When I speak in terms of being back in April, in my head I would assume that would be back playing, or at least minimum training fully with the squad,” he stated, continuing “that’s a goal that I’ve set for myself.
“Obviously there’s many factors and many things that go into play here, and many things that you have to overcome still,” he admitted, “but that’s my goal right now.”
More specifically addressing his recovery from two broken bones in his left foot, the Texan made it clear that is not only an optimistic longshot, stating “From what I’ve seen and how I’ve been progressing it seems pretty realistic.”
“The ideal journey for me right now would to be back by April, play a couple games with Juventus before the season ends and then jump and fly straight over to the [CONCACAF] Nation’s League,” he concluded.
After this weekend’s game against Inter Milan, Juventus will still have seven games left in their domestic season, which ends the weekend of May 20-22 with a trip to Fiorentina. Currently, they are well-positioned to qualify for the Champions League next season, and have an outside shot at making up the gap to overtake first-place AC Milan in the Serie A title race.
The USMNT will play their first Nations League games in the window from June 2-14, with both dates and group-stage opponents yet to be determined.
