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USMNT faces midfield depth concerns as Tanner Tessmann suffers muscle strain
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- USMNT faces midfield depth concerns as Tanner Tessmann suffers muscle strain
United States manager Mauricio Pochettino may be re-evaluating his midfield depth options, with another Europe-based U.S. international's club season over.
Tanner Tessmann suffered a muscle strain with his club, Lyon , that manager Paulo Fonseca indicated will keep him out of a Sunday May 10 matchup with Toulouse and the season finale against Lens.
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It wasn't immediately clear if the injury will put his World Cup chances in jeopardy, with more than two weeks until Pochettino reveals his roster for the tournament taking place in the U.S., Mexico and Canada - though The Athletic reported there isn't concern over Tessmann's status for the tournament.
Tessmann, an Alabama native who is a product of the FC Dallas academy system, played in 41 matches for Lyon across all competitions in the 2025-26 season, deputizing at center back in addition to playing his usual position as a defensive midfielder. He started the United States' March friendly against Belgium , a 5-2 loss, before coming on at halftime of a 2-0 loss to Portugal .
News of his muscle problem comes at an unwelcome time for the U.S. Atlético Madrid midfielder Johnny Cardoso left training earlier this week with a high grade ankle sprain that also puts his status for the summer showpiece in doubt.
Who will be in the USMNT midfield for the World Cup?
While there has been bad injury news in the past week, at least one U.S. midfielder has been on the mend. After missing the March friendly matches, Tyler Adams has played in Bournemouth 's last four matches and looks set to be fit for the tournament.
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Versatile midfielder Weston McKennie missed out on November national team matches but returned for both games in March.
And 24-year-old Columbus Crew product Aidan Morris continues to be a fixture in the middle of the field for Middlesbrough as the Championship club fights for promotion to the Premier League. MLS-based players Cristian Roldan and Sebastian Berhalter also are in good form domestically as they look to earn a place on the roster.
The U.S. has two preparation matches ahead of the tournament kicking off, facing Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6 before the June 12 World Cup opener against Paraguay .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USMNT's Tanner Tessmann suffers muscle strain as World Cup approaches
