EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — United States international Ricardo Pepi was to be operated on after breaking his right arm during a game with PSV Eindhoven and is expected to be out for two months.
The recovery timeline should give Pepi enough time to regain his form and secure a place on the U.S. team for a home World Cup.
The 23-year-old Pepi was injured when he tumbled after scoring during the first half of a 5-1 win over Excelsior in the Dutch league on Saturday.
“It didn’t look good right away and at such a moment you would prefer to look the other way,” PSV coach Peter Bosz said. “Last January Ricardo was already out due to his knee injury. It won’t last that long now, but unfortunately we lost him again. Pepi was on a good run, had a strong training camp and was all the way back. … All signs were green for a strong second half of the season, so this is incredibly disappointing.”
Pepi has scored 13 goals and provided three assists in 34 matches for the U.S.
The U.S. faces Paraguay, Australia and another team still to be determined through qualifying playoffs in the group stage of the June 11-July 19 World Cup, which will also be co-hosted by Canada and Mexico.
Pepi was surprisingly left off the U.S. squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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