Landon Donovan and Brek Shea have been ruled out of the US national team's upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda and Guatemala, US Soccer announced Tuesday.
Both players had lingering injury questions heading into national team camp in Miami, and after further evaluations they were ruled out of both games. Though Chris Wondolowski and Terrence Boyd were named as alternates, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann indicated there would be no immediate replacements added to the roster.
"It's unfortunate for Landon and Brek that they won't be able to play," Klinsmann said in a statement. "Landon was very optimistic over the weekend when his knee was feeling much better, but now he needs time to recover. We knew Brek was a question mark coming in, and now we have a clear picture of where he stands. We feel confident that the group we have will get the job done."
Donovan picked up a knee injury late in the LA Galaxy's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night and will return to LA for further evaluation. Shea, who has been sidelined since Sept. 29 with an abdominal strain, will continue treatment in Dallas.
If no more players are added to the roster, Klinsmann will have 22 players at his disposal when the team travels from to face Antigua & Barbuda on Friday evening (7 pm ET, beIN Sport, live chat on MLSsoccer.com). The team will then travel back to the US to face Guatemala in the final match of the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualification at Livestrong Sporting Park on Oct. 16.
UPDATED US ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/England), Tim Howard (Everton/England), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander/Spain), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/England), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana/Mexico), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover/Germany), Maurice Edu (Stoke City/England), Clarence Goodson (Brondby/Denmark), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim/Germany), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland/Denmark)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Roma/Italy), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/Mexico), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04/Germany), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht/Belgium), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim/Germany), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur/England), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna/Mexico), Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
