Ricardo Pepi injury scare puts USMNT roster plans in doubt

Ricardo Pepi’s September lasted roughly eight minutes. The PSV Eindhoven striker signaled for a substitution early in Sunday’s Eredivisie match against FC Twente, walking off without any visible contact and leaving everyone watching with that familiar, sinking feeling. What happened and what it means for the USMNT window Pepi exited the FC Twente match somewhere between the seventh and tenth minute on September 20, 2026. The absence of a collision or challenge made it look like a muscular problem. No official diagnosis has been released by PSV’s medical staff, and no recovery timeline has been confirmed. Coach Mauricio Pochettino had named Pepi to a 28-player squad for a packed stretch of matches: a friendly against Peru on September 26, Chile on September 29, Mexico on October 3, and Canada on October 6. In six Eredivisie appearances this season, he had scored three goals. Walking off a pitch before most fans had settled into their seats is a brutal interruption to that momentum. A striker who knows bad luck on a first-name basis In January 2026, he suffered a broken forearm that required surgery and kept him out for approximately two months. Before that, a meniscus issue in 2025 ...