USMNT
Balogun to miss the CONCACAF Nations League Final Four: what injury has he suffered and how long is he out for?
Folarin Balogun will undergo surgery tomorrow and is expected to be out for four months. He will the Nations League Final Four in March.
The worst fears about Folarin Balogun’s injury have been confirmed. The USMNT forward will undergo surgery tomorrow (Tuesday, December 17), and is expected to be out of action for approximately four months, meaning that he will miss the Final Four of the CONCACAF Nations League which takes place next spring. The USMNT will face Panama in the semi-final on 20 March.
The news was confirmed by Monaco head coach Adi Hütter, in today’s press conference, looking ahead to Wednesday’s league match against PSG.
What injury has Balogun suffered?
Balogun dislocated his left shoulder during the 1-2 win against Stade Rennais on 5 October. He quit the game on 64 minutes, helped off the field, clearly in a lot of pain.
The injury setback meant he missed the national team’s friendly against Panama - Mauricio Pochettino’s debut as manager, and also the subsequent ones against Mexico and Jamaica.
So far, Balogun has sat out 12 of Monaco’s matches - including the Champions League group game against his former club, Arsenal.
Balogun’s injury history
The bad luck that the striker has had with injuries raises uncertainty regarding his future, which is up in the air both at club and national team level.
At Monaco, Breel Embolo and Georges Ilenikhena are pushing for playing time and have stolen the spotlight from the American - even before his injury, that will keep him off the pitch until mid-April.
And with the United States national team, the situation isn’t much better for the 23-year-old striker. PSV striker Ricardo Pepi has established himself as Mauricio Pochettino’s starting Mo.9 in just four games.