Tim Weah could miss the first matches of the Mauricio Pochettino era.
Weah, the veteran U.S. men’s national team forward, injured his hamstring on Monday in the first half of Italian club Juventus‘ season-opening 3-0 win over Como in Turin. The 24-year-old Brooklyn native scored his first Serie A goal just moments before being subbed out at half-time.
On Tuesday, the record 36-time Italian champions released a statement revealing that Weah had suffered “a low-grade hamstring injury in his right thigh, and that he would be examined again “in approximately 10 days.”
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That timeline would take Weah to Aug. 30, just two days before Juventus hosts Roma at Allianz Stadium. USMNT players selected to the roster that will face Canada and New Zealand in friendlies early next month will begin reporting to Kansas City on Sept 1. The Americans meet the Canadians there six days later, then travel to Cincinnati to take on the Kiwis on Sept. 10.
Former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager Pochettino is expected to be formally introduced as the USMNT’s new coach before then, though he probably won’t be on the sidelines for those games.
[Related: USMNT closing in on a deal to hire Mauricio Pochettino as coach]
Weah, the son of former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, has amassed 41 U.S. caps since making his debut in 2018. His six international goals include the Americans’ first at the 2022 World Cup.
Weah joined Juventus last season following four years with French club Lille. He played for PSG and Scottish club Celtic before that. The winger made 30 Serie A appearances last year without finding the net, though he did score a beautiful goal in the Coppa Italia round of 16 win over Salernitana as Juve went on to win the title.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered U.S. men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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