USMNT Given Major Injury Boost Ahead of Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals

The U.S. men’s national team will have one more striker available in its ranks for next month’s competitive action, as Ricardo Pepi is nearing recovery from a muscular injury he suffered last month.

Pepi sank to the ground, grimacing in pain, just eight minutes into club side PSV Eindhoven’s clash with Eredivisie foe FC Twente on Sept. 20. Although he was able to gingerly walk off the pitch and later called the injury “just a minor setback,” he was ultimately unfit to report to the USMNT’s September-October international camp and was replaced on the roster by striker Damion Downs.

After a month on the sidelines—missing the USMNT’s four friendlies as well as four club matches, including two Champions League games, Pepi is almost back to full health. He could be available as soon as Sunday for the battle with Dutch giants Feyenoord, according to PSV manager Peter Bosz.

His recovery timeline aligns with the USMNT’s November international camp, which kicks off Nov. 9 and concludes with the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal tie against Haiti. The first leg is on Nov. 14 in Kingston, Jamaica, and the second leg is on Nov. 17 in Cincinnati.

Should Pepi be called up, it will signify a massive opportunity for the 23-year-old to re-establish himself within the pecking order.

When initially named to the September-October roster, he was the only 2026 World Cup forward that manager Mauricio Pochettino included, meaning he would have likely started the majority of the four matches. His abrupt absence, though, made way for teenage sensations Julian Hall and Justin Ellis to stake their claims to the starting lineups. The two had five goals collectively, making Pepi, who hasn’t scored for the USMNT since 2024, a sincere afterthought.

Patrick Agyemang, Haji Wright With Long-Term Injuries

Although Pochettino has reinforced his striker ranks with Hall and Ellis, he will be grateful for the return of Pepi, given the long-term injuries some of the other top strikers in his player pool have experienced recently.

Patrick Agyemang devastatingly suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury in April, just weeks before Pochettino named his final World Cup roster. After playing in both of the USMNT’s March friendlies, the Derby County star had seemed likely to earn a tournament spot. Agyemang is “on course” to return to the pitch in November, but not until “after the international break,” according to Derby manager John Eustace.

“It’s important we don’t rush him back,” Eustace told reporters last week. “Just having him training with us at the moment is brilliant. He is with the rehab team, but he is hitting all the markers.”

Haji Wright, who served as the USMNT’s third-string striker this summer, is also not expected to return to the pitch until next month, having suffered a “very serious” quad injury during preseason for Premier League side Coventry City.

“Haji won’t be back until November at best and I don’t want to put pressure on it because it’s an awkward injury,” the club’s manager Frank Lampard told reporters earlier this month, most likely ruling him out of the upcoming international window.

Although Pochettino will be without Agyemang and Wright, he has seen the return of World Cup star Folarin Balogun. Post-tournament, the 25-year-old was dealing with “a small issue in one of his legs,” according to Pochettino; however, the striker has already returned to the pitch for club side Monaco, featuring off the bench in the last three Ligue 1 matches. Whether or not he will be back to his best come November, though, remains to be seen.

Available USMNT Strikers for November Camp

*Includes players that have been rostered in the last 12 months.