The U.S. National Team received mixed news about the injury status of starters Jozy Altidore, Matt Besler Clint Dempsey ahead of Sunday’s Group G match against Portugal.
In a press conference just a day after the team’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Ghana, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann revealed that Dempsey suffered a fractured nose after a clattering challenge in the first half while both Altidore (hamstring injury) and Besler (hamstring tightness) have undergone MRIs to determine the severity of injuries that they also endured in the opening 45 minutes. During his briefing with the press, Klinsmann said that Besler and Dempsey will likely be available for the Portugal match, but Altidore’s injury may require a bit more time.
“With Jozy, we’ve got to see now how he reacts the next couple of days with his hamstring and we are full of hope that he comes back still in this tournament,” said Klinsmann. “That’s what we kind of work on every day; the medical staff is doing a tremendous job. We still have the hope that Jozy will be back. How quickly? That is down to his healing process.”
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