Facing two vital World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica (March 22 in Colorado) and Mexico (March 26 in Mexico City) in two weeks, the U.S. men's soccer team received some very bad news. Goalkeeper Tim Howard picked up two broken bones in his back playing for Everton so he's expected to be out for the rest of March.
That means that backup goalkeeper Brad Guzan would start in his first World Cup qualifiers in four years for the Americans. The good news is that Guzan has been the starter lately for Aston Villa so he should be ready.
Howard was hurt Feb. 26 in an FA Cup win over Oldham and missed last weekend's Premier League game against Reading. That ended his streak of consecutive league matches at 210, two shy of the Everton record set by goalkeeper Neville Southall from 1987-93.
Everton manager David Moyes said Howard will miss Saturday's FA Cup quarterfinal against Wigan and the March 16 match league match versus Manchester City, but could return March 30 against Stoke.
"We are not sure how long Tim will be out for because, obviously with a goalkeeper, he has to dive around and hit the ground," Moyes said Friday, according to the team's website. "If everything goes well, he misses next week's game, as well, and then because of the international break he might be close after the rest because that would be four weeks."
Howard is getting up there in age (34) although goalkeepers can play at a much higher level in later years than most field players. He is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world; he started all their games at the 2010 World Cup and the previous seven World Cup qualifiers for Brazil 2014.
"He has two fractures, but they are not bones that are supporting anything," Moyes said. "It is off the spine. They are not weight-bearing. It just needs a bit of healing time. It is not like a pure fracture where you need to wait to look at it. It is a question of whether he can cope with the pain. The bones will heal themselves, but it's not good."
Midfielder Landon Donovan won't start training with the LA Galaxy until later this month so he won't be ready for these upcoming matches. Midfielder Clint Dempsey has been out since February 21 at Tottenham dealing with a calf injury and fullback Steve Cherundolo could miss a month at Hannover (Germany) with a shoulder injury.
None of this makes me feel better, I was already expecting the U.S. to not win at Mexico. They really need a win vs. Costa Rica to get some confidence back after the 2-1 loss at Honduras in February to open this last round of qualifying (the Hexagonal).
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