United States sends Weston McKennie back to Juventus after protocol breach

United States supervisor Gregg Berhalter despatched midfielder Weston McKennie again to membership aspect Juventus forward of Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier towards Honduras, the U.S. Soccer Federation introduced on Monday.

The choice comes after McKennie was suspended for Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Canada in World Cup qualifying. McKennie later posted on Instagram that his suspension was resulting from him breaching the workforce’s COVID-19 protocols.

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After the match, Berhalter stated that it “stays to be seen” if McKennie could be accessible for the Honduras match. On Monday, the choice was made to droop him additional.

“Weston will return to Italy and will likely be unavailable for the match towards Honduras resulting from a violation of workforce coverage,” Berhalter stated through a press release. “There are excessive expectations for individuals who are part of the U.S. Males’s Nationwide Workforce, and so as to achieve success it is essential that everybody within the group is accountable.”

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Jackson Yueill has been referred to as in to take McKennie’s place. It was additionally introduced that Barcelona defender Sergino Dest has been dominated out of the Honduras recreation after spraining his ankle towards Canada.

Mixed with goalkeeper Zack Steffen testing optimistic for COVID-19 and Giovanni Reyna struggling a hamstring pressure within the 0-0 tie towards El Salvador, the U.S. could have 23 gamers accessible for choice on Wednesday. Steffen’s spot on the roster was taken by New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

The absence of McKennie will likely be keenly felt, however Berhalter clearly thought he had no alternative however to mete out additional self-discipline to the Juventus midfielder following his violation of the workforce’s protocol.

It is not the primary time McKennie has engaged in such habits, calling into query his degree of professionalism. Again in April he was suspended by then-Juventus supervisor Andrea Pirlo after he was found to have hosted a party that included Juventus teammates Paulo Dybala and Arthur. He was additionally fined by police.