Just when everyone thought Tyler Adams was back, the U.S. men’s national team midfielder has — at least for now — returned to the sidelines.
Adams was not in uniform as Bournemouth took on Luton Town on Saturday, marking the second straight match for the Cherries in which the USMNT star did not play.
Following the match, Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola confirmed Adams had been suffering from back spasms throughout the week.
Bournemouth would go on to lose 2-1 at Kenilworth Road after the Hatters staged a late comeback.
Adams was in uniform but did not appear in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. That match came three days after Adams stood out in a 2-1 win over Everton, playing 90 minutes for the first time in over a year.
Iraola said before the match that an unspecified malady had thrown the status of several players in doubt.
“This week is going to be difficult,” Iraola told reporters at a pre-match press conference. “We have some cases of — I don’t want to say ‘illness’ — but they are not probably feeling 100 percent, but we still have two days.
“Tomorrow they could come fresh and [if so] they are available for the game. It is true we have some players who are let’s say in doubtful conditions to perform if the game was today.”
On Friday, Bournemouth posted a gallery of photos of its team’s final training session before the clash with the Hatters, but Adams did not appear anywhere among the 70 images.
Heading into this week, Adams had been showing promising signs of finding his form instantly after an excruciating injury layoff. The New York native had effectively missed a full year after a hamstring injury required two separate surgeries.
However, he scored a brilliant goal for the USMNT in the Concacaf Nations League final, and had appeared in Bournemouth’s matches on either side of the international break.
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