Tag: Josh Sargent

Sargent returns with another Norwich goal after missing USMNT duty

The USMNT forward continued his incredible campaign with a goal vs. Plymouth

Josh Sargent’s incredible season continued on Friday, as the Norwich City striker fired home another goal in his side’s 2-1 comeback win over Plymouth.

Sargent scored his 14th goal of the campaign midway through the second half, equalizing the match off a well-worked routine from a corner kick. Seven minutes later, the Canaries took the lead for good thanks to a Plymouth own goal.

With the win, Norwich made it seven straight victories at home and maintained its spot in the sixth and final playoff position in the Championship table.

Sargent’s 14-goal haul is made even more impressive by the fact he missed four months of the season with an ankle injury. Despite all that time on the sideline, only five players in the Championship have more goals this season than the Missouri native.

After receiving his first call-up since the 2022 World Cup, Sargent was forced off the U.S. men’s national team roster this month with an ankle injury.

The 24-year-old didn’t end up missing any club matches, however, as he was able to return in Norwich’s first game following the international break.

Meanwhile, Sargent’s replacement on the USMNT roster, Haji Wright, also found the net on Friday, as the Coventry City striker scored his 14th of the season in his side’s 3-1 win over Huddersfield.

Watch Sargent’s goal vs. Plymouth

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USMNT calls Aaronson, Wright up for Nations League as injury replacements

Snubbed no more, Aaronson and Wright will get their shot at the Nations League

The U.S. men’s national team has had to make a pair of changes, with Gregg Berhalter adding Brenden Aaronson and Haji Wright to his squad for the Concacaf Nations League.

The duo will join up with the USMNT after Luca de la Torre and Josh Sargent had to withdraw from the team with injuries ahead of Thursday’s semifinal against Jamaica in Arlington, Texas.

De la Torre was forced to withdraw with what U.S. Soccer called a quadriceps strain, while Sargent — whose superb recent form earned him his first call-up since 2022 — will miss out due to ankle irritation.

The recall comes at a critical time for Aaronson. The New Jersey native said he is enduring “the toughest year of my life” on Saturday, shortly after what was arguably his best single-game performance with Union Berlin. Aaronson scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen, just two minutes after notching his first assist of the year.

Wright, meanwhile, is flying high. The USMNT recall comes a day after the Coventry City striker notched a stunning stoppage-time winner to send the Sky Blues through to the FA Cup semifinals. The Californian has eight goals in Coventry’s last 10 matches.

Despite the injury news, Berhalter had a series of options to sort through, particularly in replacing Sargent. Brandon Vazquez has been thriving since completing a winter transfer to Monterrey, while Jordan Pefok has started 10 straight for Borussia Mönchengladbach. If a wide attacker had been preferred, the list of players vying for a spot would have to include Kevin Paredes, Cade Cowell, Alex Zendejas, and Griffin Yow.

If Berhalter had concerns about the balance of his squad going too attack-heavy, Gianluca Busio, and Aidan Morris could have all been in the mix as well. Another option, Lennard Maloney, remains out for Heidenheim with a knock.

Updated USMNT Nations League finals roster

Goalkeepers (3): 22-Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), 18-Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City; 9/0), 1-Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest; 37/0)

Defenders (8): 2-Sergino Dest (PSV; 32/2), 23-Kristoffer Lund (Palermo; 3/0), 16-Mark McKenzie (Genk; 13/0), 13-Tim Ream (Fulham; 55/1), 3-Chris Richards (Crystal Palace; 14/1), 5-Antonee Robinson (Fulham; 39/4), 12-Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 28/3), 19-Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach; 8/0)

Midfielders (5): 4-Tyler Adams (Bournemouth; 36/1), 15-Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis; 9/0), 8-Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 49/11), 6-Yunus Musah (AC Milan; 33/0), 7-Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest; 24/7)

Forwards (7): 11-Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 38/8), 20-Folarin Balogun (Monaco; 8/3), 17-Malik Tillman (PSV; 8/0), 9-Ricardo Pepi (PSV; 22/10), 10-Christian Pulisic (AC Milan; 64/28), 21-Tim Weah (Juventus; 35/5), 14-Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 7/2)

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Norwich boss Wagner: Sargent injury return expected by January

The striker underwent surgery this month for an ankle ligaments injury

Norwich City head coach David Wagner has said Josh Sargent is expected to return from his ankle injury by January.

Sargent underwent surgery after suffering the injury last month in Norwich’s match against Huddersfield. The U.S. men’s national team striker was off to a hot start with the Championship outfit, scoring three goals in four league matches to open the new campaign.

Speaking to reporters, Wagner said he is hopeful that the 23-year-old will return before the new year.

“We saw Josh on Wednesday the first time in the building after his surgery,” Wagner said. “Looks good. Obviously, I’ve spoken with him and he does not need any painkillers any longer, which is the good information. Next week, he gets out of stitches, which is then the next step and it still is the time frame which we set — Christmas, early January — when we hope to have him come back.

“Everything went well so far. But now obviously it’s all about recovery and then to have a proper rehab, and then a proper build up of his fitness,”

Sargent last featured for the USMNT at the World Cup in Qatar, where he played in all three group-stage matches. Overall, the Missouri native has scored five USMNT goals in 23 caps.

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Norwich coach: Sargent will miss ‘months’ with ankle injury

The 23-year-old is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines

Josh Sargent is set to miss “months, not weeks” with an ankle injury suffered over the weekend, according to Norwich City head coach David Wagner.

Sargent injured his ankle while scoring the opening goal in Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Huddersfield. The striker blocked a clearance from goalkeeper Lee Nicholls and as he leapt to head into an open net, the trailing Nicholls barged him over and landed on his ankle.

Speaking to the media after Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Bristol City, Wagner confirmed that Sargent was set to miss a significant portion of the season.

“We still don’t have a clear picture, but what is sure is it’s a serious injury,” Wagner said. “So we speak more about months than weeks. We have to make a further assessment with him.

“He sees a further consultant and I think we have a clearer picture at the end of the week to know how many months and if he needs surgery, but it’s a serious injury, which we expected.”

Asked if the injury was to Sargent’s ankle ligaments, Wagner said: “Exactly.”

The injury is a major blow to club and player, with Sargent scoring three goals in four Championship matches to start to the new campaign. That followed a 13-goal campaign in the Championship last term.

Sargent looks likely to miss U.S. men’s national team matches in September, October and November. The 23-year-old last featured for the USMNT at the World Cup in Qatar, where he played in all three group-stage matches.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Pulisic takes Serie A by storm

It’s early, but €20 million is looking like a real bargain for the USMNT star

It’s extremely early, but some Chelsea fans are already starting to have some regrets over letting Christian Pulisic go.

You can’t totally blame them. Though it is, once again, very early, you can’t really do better than Pulisic’s start at AC Milan: two games, two star performances, two goals and two wins.

At €20 million, Pulisic is certainly looking like a true bargain in a market where, to pick one completely random example, a club in west London paid €100 million for an unproven winger from the Ukrainian league.

As Milan captain Davide Calabria put it: “This is the best environment for him — the squad, the fans and this stadium — in order to to steal the limelight again.”

So far, it’s hard to argue with Calabria. Let’s get to the Five.

The Americans Abroad Five: A fresh start for Brenden Aaronson

There are some early signs of positivity in Aaronson’s loan at Union Berlin

Last season was rough on Brenden Aaronson.

After a promising start with Leeds, the U.S. national team attacker faded badly down the stretch en route to an ugly outcome for both player and team.

For Aaronson? Just one goal and three assists in more than 2,300 league minutes. For Leeds? Relegation.

Though a season in the Championship could have had its benefits for the 22-year-old, the chance to join a Bundesliga side in the Champions League was clearly too good to pass up.

It’s obviously way too soon to judge Aaronson’s loan with Union Berlin, but there are at least some early signs of positivity. Let’s look at Aaronson’s Bundesliga debut to kick off the Five this week.

USMNT player ratings: Adams, Weah the best from World Cup draw against Wales

The USMNT needed one more standout, and one less mistake

A strong start from the U.S. men’s national team wasn’t quite enough for them to get their first World Cup win since June 16, 2014.

The USMNT dominated the first half and took a deserved lead through Tim Weah, but fell under progressively more pressure and conceded a late Gareth Bale penalty kick, sealing a 1-1 draw that is neither satisfactory nor a disaster.

It’s a bit of a tough game to parse, with many players doing an adequate job, a couple being outright good, and one major mistake undoing their efforts. We’ll have deeper analysis in the future, but during the World Cup we’ll be giving a quick breakdown of each USMNT player’s performance.

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of Pro Soccer Wire’s staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Maradona vs. England in 1986.

The Americans Abroad Five: No USMNT players were harmed in the making of this list

There was no last-minute injury heartbreak for the U.S. ahead of the World Cup

There were several headlines with Americans abroad this weekend but in a sense, the only thing that really matters is the story that didn’t happen.

Namely, no players on the World Cup roster got injured in their final game before heading for Qatar.

USMNT fans watched the weekend’s slate of games with their breaths collectively held, but there was no devastating last-minute injury. In fact, there was even a key player returning from a short spell on the sidelines.

Before we go on a hiatus for the World Cup, let’s get to the Five.

USMNT striker stock watch: Final rankings before the World Cup

The USMNT will announce its World Cup roster on Wednesday. Which strikers will make the cut?

The United States men’s national soccer team will announce its roster for the 2022 World Cup on Wednesday evening.

The striker position has been in flux for most of the year but with just two weeks until kickoff in, some clarity has started to emerge.

Before the roster is revealed, here’s the final edition of Pro Soccer Wire’s 2022 striker stock watch series, with players ranked 1-3 expected to make the flight to Qatar.

Josh Sargent will return from injury for Norwich City this weekend

The striker has missed two games with a calf problem but is now back in the mix for the Canaries

Norwich City and the U.S. national team got some good news on Friday, as Josh Sargent was declared fit to face Rotherham.

Sargent has missed two consecutive matches with a calf problem, raising fears his availability for the World Cup could come into question.

But speaking at a press conference on Friday, Norwich head coach Dean Smith said Sargent would be ready for Saturday’s game in Rotherham.

“They’re both training with us today so it should be the case that they are available,” Smith said of Sargent and defender Dimitris Giannoulis.

“Sarge is a definite yes. Dimi is one we have to look at, he is just back from a long-term injury.”

Sargent has put himself in the mix for a World Cup roster spot with a stellar campaign for Norwich City so far, scoring eight goals in 17 appearances.

His return will be a boost ahead of next week’s World Cup roster reveal. Several USMNT players are currently battling injuries, including key figures like Weston McKennie, Matt Turner, Chris Richards and Luca de la Torre.

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