Clint Dempsey out for rest of Sounders season, USMNT status in doubt
The Sounders will be without Clint Dempsey as they make their push toward the playoffs and perhaps beyond as the team announced he will miss the rest of the season as he continues to deal with an irregular heartbeat. The club's General Manager and President of Soccer Garth Lagerway announced the news on Tuesday.
Club doctors first discovered Dempsey's irregular heartbeat in late August, and hasn't featured for club or country since. Encouraging signs emerged in mid-September when Dempsey returned to training and Lagerway said the Sounders were "cautiously optimistic" about Dempsey. Tuesday's announcement quashed any hopes of seeing Dempsey back anytime soon, however.
The Sounders, who currently sit outside of the MLS playoff hunt with 38 points, will have to make do without Dempsey. The good news for Seattle is that they're playing well even without Dempsey, going 2-1-1 without the striker thus far. Also, the Sounders have two games in hand against the team they're chasing for the last playoff spot, the Portland Timbers, who have 46 points.
What remains to be seen is what the future holds for Dempsey with the U.S. men's national team. It's all speculative right now, but he'll almost surely miss the USMNT's friendly matches against Cuba and New Zealand on Oct. 7 and Oct. 11, respectively. It's unlikely that he'll be available for the United States' next round of World Cup qualifying, which would mean missing pivotal Hex matches against Mexico (Nov. 11) and Costa Rica (Nov. 15).
The decision to shelve Dempsey for the remainder of the season appears to be in an effort for the American to be fully fit in the New Year and make a return. "If we prioritize this now, hopefully we can get Dempsey back in 2017," Lagerway told Sounders Beat.
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NEWS: Clint Dempsey ruled out for remainder of the 2016 @MLS season: https://t.co/8CWiYUYWUH pic.twitter.com/4crdVs2f8q
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) September 27, 2016
