Finally, the USMNT took home the victory against Panama in a cagey affair as the Mauricio Pochettino era was underway. Amidst much hype and coverage, he took his team to victory, with Yunus Musah and Ricardo Pepi giving them a 2-0 conquest over Panama. Notably, Panama defeated them during the 2024 Copa America as they took revenge this time around. Everything went well. However, there was one single question: where was Weston McKennie?

One player who could revitalize his USMNT career could be Weston McKennie. Talented beyond his years, the Juventus player finally found his feet back again with dazzling displays for Juventus in the Serie A. He leads the midfield for Thiago Motta’s Turin-based club, which finally looks to be back with a bang. Yet, he missed Pochettino’s first game in charge. Well, we have an interesting update on why he missed the game.

On X, soccer reporter Jeff Carlisle revealed the real reason behind the American midfielder’s absence from the match. He pointed out, “Pochettino said that Weston McKennie wasn’t 100% and that he “didn’t want to take a risk” with McKennie, that he was “trying to protect him.” We’ll see if he plays Tuesday.”

The player runs around the pitch, and often injuries have dampened his progress. Mauricio Pochettino decided to rest him and went with Gianluca Busio and Aidan Morris to set the pivot in the midfield. Despite McKennie not playing, these two controlled the midfield well against Panama. Maybe, with all respect to Panama, Pochettino wants him fresh and ready for Mexico, a somewhat bigger challenge.

Weston McKennie’s unfortunate injury problems could affect Mauricio Pochettino’s plans!

The two teams face on October 16th at the Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. They enjoy a fierce rivalry with each other and often tempers flare. Thus, Pochettino could hope he could count on his midfielder to return for the game. Yet McKennie’s injury history worries us. In the last 8 seasons he played soccer, McKennie missed 68 games. Sometimes, he gets 3-4 injuries in a season. It became a vicious cycle he had dealt with for a long time.

There are some worrying recurrent injuries he has with his shoulder. He missed 3 games for Juventus in 2024 while missing another three more when his career started at Schalke. Apart from that, he suffered a major injury where he had a metatarsal fracture that kept him out for 87 days. With knee problems, muscular problems, and multiple injuries, his career kick-started recently with Thiago Motta in charge.

He regained his confidence back and looks to be a different player. For now, he must focus on his fitness. It’s because Mauricio Pochettino’s system needs a player who can run for long periods. It’s a high-intensity match where they press highly and how he prefers box-to-box midfielders. As he fits the bill perfectly, Mauricio Pochettino wants more.

With an unfortunate injury history, we hope Weston McKennie can regain his fitness and return for the Mexico contest. He remains an influential player in the middle of the park.