This a huge blow for the U.S. national team.
Geoff Cameron has not recovered as expected from a knee injury and the Stoke City star is highly unlikely to feature for the U.S. next week against Mexico in their massive 2018 World Cup qualifier.
ProSoccerTalk understands that Cameron will not even make the trip back to the U.S. for the international break as he focuses on getting fully fit.
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Cameron injured his right knee after a late collision in the 2-0 win at Hull City on Oct. 29 and was initially diagnosed with a hyper-extension but there was also a strain in the MCL. He hasn’t played since.
The former Houston Dynamo star had been a key figure in central midfield for Stoke in recent weeks, with the Potters going four games unbeaten and Cameron widely praise for his reading of the game and defensive solidity allowing the likes of Joe Allen, Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic to pour forward.
On Friday Stoke’s manager Mark Hughes all but confirmed that Cameron will miss their game at West Ham United on Saturday (Watch live, 10 a.m. ET on NBCSports.com) and is not likely to travel back to the U.S. for the crunch Hexagonal qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica.
Cameron, 31, has been influential for the USMNT over the past 12 months, playing in every single minute of the run to the Copa America Centenario semifinals last summer and he’s been a rock in central defense. He also played in every single game in the last round of World Cup qualifying.
Alongside John Brooks, the duo have built a formidable partnership and Jurgen Klinsmann now has a big headache as to who comes into the team.
Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, Steve Birnbaum and Michael Orozco will all look to get the nod in Cameron’s place but it will be a blow for Klinsmann to see the defensive unit of DeAndre Yedlin, Cameron, Brooks and Fabian Johnson, which performed so well last summer, broken up.
Make no mistake about it, losing Cameron for the marquee match in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 11 against Mexico and for the trip to CONCACAF foes Costa Rica will put a huge dent in the USA’s chances of kicking off the final stage of World Cup qualifying with two positive results.