Star player to miss US Men’s FIFA World Cup squad due to ankle surgery

With just weeks left for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, the US Men’s Team has been hit with a major injury blow. Hopeful for this year’s edition, the EPL veteran’s squad will now be missing a top player.

Atletico Madrid and USMNT star Johnny Cardoso is set to miss the tournament with an ankle injury. Forced to undergo ankle surgery, Cardoso will now be unavailable for the upcoming World Cup tournament.

Following an excellent season with Atletico Madrid, the Spanish club shared that the 24-year-old has suffered an ankle sprain while training and will now undergo surgery, forcing him out of the tournament.

“Johnny Cardoso will undergo surgery to repair the injury to his right ankle. The American suffered a trauma during training last Thursday that resulted in a high-grade sprain with joint involvement,” the official club statement read (translated from Spanish).

Despite multiple injuries in the squad, Mauricio Pochettino is hoping for a positive result from his team. With the home advantage and an experienced and talented squad, this year’s USMNT has a higher chance of winning than all their previous years combined.

Former American soccer player has high hopes for the USMNT

Former American goalkeeper Tim Howard recently opened up on the USMNT’s chances for this year’s campaign. The former goalie opened up and heaped praises on and his expectations for this year’s team.

“People call me crazy, but I keep saying it, I think they will walk the group,” Howard said. “I think part of that is they are going to score a lot of goals, and that’s helpful going into the knockout phase. If they’re scoring goals and you know you can find goals from set pieces with Chris Richards, and you are getting services from the wing, and your top players have found their feet in the first round, and each got a goal. You feel really good going into the second round.”

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