United States men’s national team head coach Bruce Arena said on Monday that he will be “very cautious” with Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey in preparations for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Hexagonal in CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying.
Arena said in January he would “absolutely not” call in Dempsey, who is still working his way back to full fitness after missing six months while recovering from an irregular heartbeat, for the U.S.’ next two matches later this month. The U.S. will host Honduras in San Jose, Calif., on March 24 before traveling to take on Panama on March 28.
“I’ll follow their lead," Arena said of the Colorado Rapids in regards to veteran goalkeeper Tim Howard, who is recovering from leg surgery in November, “as well as following the lead of Seattle with Clint.
“Between now and when the players report, there's going to be a lot of issues, so we have a Plan A, a B and a C, and in a lot of cases we're probably going to go to Plan C,” Arena continued. “Two players, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard, may not be available. It may be the case with [Stoke City defender Geoff Cameron]. They've all been good players for the U.S. team. We'd like to have them all. The reality of the situation is that that's not likely.”
The U.S. currently sit in last place in the Hex with zero points through two matches.
