Midfielder Brenden Aaronson was scratched from RB Salzburg's starting lineup about 10 minutes before its Austrian Bundesliga championship round match at Wolfsberg on Sunday, calling into question whether he will be available for upcoming U.S. World Cup qualifiers.
“Last-minute change to our starting XI," Salzburg said. “Brenden Aaronson had to pull out due to knee problems, unfortunately.”
The 21-year-old from Medford, New Jersey, is the only U.S. player to appear in all qualifiers, starting seven. He scored against Canada and Honduras in September.
Aaronson has three goals in 21 league matches this season.
Seeking to return to the World Cup after missing the 2018 tournament, the U.S. is at Mexico on March 24, hosts Panama three days later at Orlando, Florida, and closes at Costa Rica on March 30. Training starts Monday in Houston.
Canada leads North and Central America and the Caribbean with 25 points and the U.S. is second with 21, ahead of Mexico on goal difference. Panama is fourth with 17 points, followed by Costa Rica with 16 and El Salvador with nine.
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