The United States hopes to put on a show in front of its home fans at this year’s Copa América.
While they are not considered one of the favorites to win the competition, they will need their full complement of available players to put in a quality performance. Unfortunately, a key man they were hoping to count on has been cruelly killed by injury.
Sergiño Dest, who has returned to his best form this season at PSV after years of seeking regular football at elite European clubs, has suffered a setback that threatens to keep him out of the summer tournament and beyond.
Dest has been the USMNT’s regular starting right back since his debut as an 18-year-old in 2019. His potential loss to major competition at home is a devastating blow that will leave Gregg Berhalter searching for answers in an article. -thin position.
Sergiño Dest, news and developments after a “serious” knee injury
In a statement issued on April 21.Dutch club PSV announced that Sergiño Dest had suffered a “serious knee injury” during training the previous day. While the club stated that the extent of the injury was still being assessed, They went so far as to say “He will almost certainly be out for a long period of time.”
Details of Dest’s injury have not yet been reported. According Greg O’Keeffe of The AthleticDest could be sidelined for up to nine months, indicating a torn ACL or a torn patellar tendon.
Either way, it’s a blow to Dest and the United States. After years of working hard at Barcelona to earn playing time, including an unsuccessful loan spell at AC Milan, Dest finally found a club in PSV that fully appreciated his talent, establishing himself as a regular starter in the side and helping the team to succeed. the Dutch league title.
Will Sergiño Dest miss the Copa América?
Yeah The Athletic report It is true, Sergiño Dest will not only miss the 2024 Copa América, but he will also miss an important part of the start of the next season. This jeopardizes their participation in the fall matches of the CONCACAF Nations League.
If Dest is sidelined for nine months as suggested, he would not return to the field until December 2024 or early 2025 and would need to be moved slowly once he returns to fitness.
Who will replace Sergiño Dest with the USMNT in the Copa América?
The most similar replacement at right-back for Sergino Dest would be Joe Scally, but the answer is not as simple as that.
Scally is still very young and has struggled in his first nine international matches. His most recent appearance against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals in March was a disaster, starting in place of the suspended Dest but withdrawn at half-time after a horrible performance. Gregg Berhalter decided to deploy midfielder Weston McKennie out of position for the final 45 minutes and into extra time.
The 21-year-old also lost his starting job at German club Borussia Mönchengladbach. Scally started all but two Bundesliga games this season until February, completing the full 90 minutes in all but seven of the club’s first 19 league games. In the 11 games since then, he has completed 90 minutes three times, come off the bench three times and been an unused substitute twice.
The issue here for Berhalter is depth: There are very few proven options behind Dest and Scally in the USMNT player pool, with Shaq Moore being the only other player with recent national team experience. Moore returned domestically this season to sign with Nashville SC and would be a viable, if uninspiring, option in a major tournament. Bryan Reynolds has not appeared for the national team since the 2023 Gold Cup, but the 22-year-old could return to the mix thanks to a solid season at Belgian club Westerlo.
Tyler Adams played at right back early in his youth career before being moved to defensive midfielder and could be deployed there in an emergency, but his fitness issues over the last two years also make him a risky and unreliable option. McKennie was used there for 45 minutes against Jamaica as the United States bombed their numbers, but he wouldn’t be considered a possibility for a full major tournament.
Otherwise, Berhalter could opt to shift players from the slightly deeper left-back group to his opposite side, with players like Kristoffer Lund, DeJuan Jones or John Tolkien all options.
PSV still wants to sign Sergiño Dest permanently despite his injury
With Sergiño Dest currently at PSV on loan from Barcelona, the injury could put any permanent transfer at risk.
However, it seems likely that the Dutch club will press ahead with a permanent transfer, as long as Barcelona cooperate on that front.
PSV sporting director Marcel Brands told Dutch media Voetbal International that they will still look to sign Dest to a permanent contract and that the injury has not discouraged them.
“We were in negotiations with him and his agent last week,” Brands said. “Yes, we are going in the right direction. We have to wait and see how or what, but we believe in the player Sergiño and I assume that he will be fit again. We would very much like him to stay at PSV.”
