Weston McKennie will not return to Juventus’ lineup this season, manager Max Allegri revealed Sunday.
McKennie was initially expected to miss at least eight weeks with a foot fracture, ruling him out until April, but Allegri now says that the Texan won’t come back before June.
That confirms that any stragglers hoping for McKennie to make some USMNT appearances soon will have to wait until well after CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
[ MANCHESTER DERBY: Three things we learned | Player ratings ]
McKennie had become a fixture for Allegri as he had for Andrea Pirlo before him, playing 1,358 minutes with three goals in Serie A this season.
The 23-year-old midfielder has also logged 387 minutes in the Champions League and also scored in Juve’s 2-1 aet loss to Inter Milan in the Italian Super Cup.
Juventus and USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie won’t come back this season, Massimiliano Allegri announces: “The season is over for Weston because of his injury. He’ll be back next season”. 🚫🇺🇸 #USMNT #Juve
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 6, 2022
What does this mean for Juventus, USMNT?
This, of course, keeps pressure on Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Kellyn Acosta and others in the USMNT midfield, but Gregg Berhalter’s set-up has relative depth at the position.
Juve has decent depth as well, but will lament McKennie’s absence as it bids to creep back into the top four.
The USMNT sits 2nd in the Octagonal, four points behind leaders Canada and four ahead of 4th-place Panama. The top three qualify automatically, while the 4th-place finisher goes to the inter-confederation playoffs.
The Yanks visit Mexico on March 24, host Panama three days later, then finish CONCACAF qualifying with a March 30 trip to Costa Rica.
