Ricardo Pepi was supposed to be in Georgia with the U.S. men’s national team, but he’s instead in Eindhoven, Netherlands, starting his injury recovery in what he described as a “minor setback” on Tuesday.
Pepi, 23, was subbed off with an injury early in PSV Eindhoven’s match against FC Twente in the top tier of Dutch professional football and was replaced by Mauricio Pochettino on the USMNT roster for the September-October international window.
In a statement on Tuesday, Pepi, who appeared in all five of the United States’ World Cup matches this summer, expressed gratitude for the well wishes he’s received.
“Thanks to everyone for the warm messages,” Pepi said in a message posted to the PSV’s website. “Unfortunately, this is just a minor setback. I have already started my recovery to be back as soon as possible and help the team.”
His club team didn’t say how long Pepi would be out. It isn’t slated to play again until Oct. 9 against Heerenveen.
Pochettino replaced Pepi on the USMNT roster with St. Louis City SC attacker Damion Downs.
The US squad will play four friendlies during the international window, with matches against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada on the docket.
The USMNT will play competitive matches in November during the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals. Before then, PSV has eight matches across several competitions.
Pepi’s absence is one of several notable ones during this camp, which is the first since the World Cup ended.
World Cup star Folarin Balogun and Christian Pulisic were not included on the roster for the international window, though both have had questions surrounding their health.
Pulisic scored his first goal of the season for AC Milan over the weekend and Balogun appeared in his first match for AS Monaco as a substitute.
Pochettino said last week that the “doors are open for everyone” at this camp.
“Now it’s a new start. It’s a new cycle,” the USMNT boss said. “It’s not what happened one year ago, one and a half years ago, what happened in the World Cup. To be honest, it’s a fresh start.”
