U.S. Men’s National Team Faces Injury Concerns

The U.S. men’s national soccer team encountered some troubling moments on Sunday. Defender Chris Richards and midfielder Brenden Aaronson sustained what looked like minor injuries while playing for their clubs in the English Premier League.

Thankfully, it seems neither injury is too severe. Richards, who is somewhat essential for the U.S. due to a lack of defensive depth, stayed on the field during the Crystal Palace match, despite colliding with Brentford’s Igor Thiago. However, he needed assistance to leave the pitch in the final moments of a 2-2 draw.

Crystal Palace’s manager, Oliver Glasner, commented post-match, saying, “He twisted his ankle. I believe Thiago landed on it, and it’s quite swollen, so we’ll need to evaluate it further, but we hope he’ll be back midweek.”

Palace will wrap up their Premier League season this Sunday against Arsenal and will then face Rayo Vallecano in the Europa Conference League final on May 27. The U.S. national team will announce its roster at an event in Lower Manhattan on the 26th. Richards is expected to join the team in Atlanta as they begin preparations.

Aaronson, hailing from Medford, New Jersey, was sent off in the 59th minute of Leeds United’s narrow 1-0 defeat of Brighton & Hove Albion. His manager, Daniel Farke, described him as having “dead legs.” He added, “He was still on the bike at halftime trying to get back, but it started tightening up. I think he’ll be fine for the next match.” Leeds will be up against West Ham United on Sunday.

Beyond these injury issues, another narrative looms over the U.S. team—Christian Pulisic’s struggles with scoring. After missing the previous weekend’s match against Atalanta for precautionary reasons, Pulisic came off the bench for just 14 minutes in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Genoa. While he assisted Christopher Nkunku’s winning goal and blocked a close-range shot in stoppage time, he still hasn’t managed to find the back of the net himself.

The assist marked only his second goal contribution since the start of 2026, with his last goal coming on December 28, 2025, against Torino. Pulisic will get one last opportunity to gain some momentum before joining the national team in next week’s game against Cagliari.

Meanwhile, right-back Sergiño Dest played the full match in PSV Eindhoven’s 5-1 victory over FC Twente, although he earned a yellow card. This was Dest’s second start and first complete game since a hamstring injury sidelined him in early March. Ricardo Pepi also netted a goal for PSV, extending their winning streak to six games.

In other news, right-back Anthony Robinson scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot, while center back Auston Trusty received a red card during Celtic’s title-clinching win over Hearts. Delayed winger Xavier Gozo scored in Real Salt Lake’s victory against the Rapids.

Joe Scully played a full 90 minutes for Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Gio Reyna came off the bench for the final 23 minutes in their 4-0 win over Hoffenheim. Center back Tim Ream was rested by Charlotte FC for load management.

Malik Tillman returned to Bayer Leverkusen’s starting eleven for the first time since March, playing 62 minutes and registering a shot on target in their 1-1 draw with Hamburg. Weston McKennie played the full game for Juventus, but they fell 2-0 to Fiorentina.

In a high-scoring affair, Folarin Balogun had five shots in 76 minutes for Monaco but managed just one on target in their 5-4 loss to Strasbourg. Tim Weah played 88 minutes in Marseille’s 3-1 victory over Rennes, while Mark McKenzie had 22 minutes for Toulouse before their match against Nantes was halted due to pitch invasion.