A report out of England on Thursday indicated that US national team hopeful Brek Shea will be loaned out by English Premier League side Stoke City in an attempt to get him more playing time ahead of the World Cup next summer.
According to the Telegraph, the former FC Dallas star will be loaned out to a club in the second-tier Championship, although there’s been no specific club linked to the rumor.
The report says that Shea is expected to be moved before the emergency loan window closes on Nov. 28.
Shea, 23, has seen limited time since joining Stoke last January while battling injuries. He made just two league appearances last season, and his only appearance for the club this fall was a 45-minute run in Stoke’s 3-1 win over Walsall in a Capital One Cup match on Aug. 28.
He’s also fallen out of favor as the choice option for Jurgen Klinsmann on the left side of the US national team’s lineup since joining Stoke. Although he appeared in all seven matches during the CONCACAF Gold Cup and scored the game-winning goal in the final against Panama, Shea featured in just one of the team’s 10 World Cup qualifying matches, a brief cameo off the bench in a scoreless draw against Mexico in March.
Shea arrived at Stoke in January with a foot injury that hampered him down the stretch last year with FC Dallas and he did not appear for the Potters until March.
He also suffered a knee injury during a friendly between Stoke and the Philadelphia Union on July 31 at PPL Park, when Union defender Matt Cassel took him down with a rough tackle and left him hobbled on crutches after the match.
