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Where is Sergiño Dest for El Clásico and the USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier? Unfortunately, ahead of what was going to be the biggest week of his career, an untimely Sergiño Dest injury is keeping the U.S. and Barcelona fullback off the pitch. Fortunately, he won’t be out for too long.
Dest, a 21-year-old with 17 caps and two goals for the USMNT, was set to play at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid in Europe’s biggest rivalry on Sunday followed by a trip to the famed Azteca Stadium for World Cup qualifying against Mexico on Thursday. It would’ve been one of the most incredible weeks for any American soccer player, as Dest is still the only American to play in El Clásico.
Instead, Dest will be watching from the sidelines after hobbling off injured during Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Galatasaray in the Europa League on Thursday. Hours before Gregg Berhalter unveiled his USMNT roster for next week’s vital World Cup qualifiers, Dest strained his hamstring making a goal-saving tackle.
Sergiño Dest Injury vs. Galatasaray
Sergino Dest comes off with an apparent injury against Galatasaray. #UEL pic.twitter.com/2tmRRD2FGV
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 17, 2022
Happy for the win yesterday but really disappointed to come off with a hamstring injury. I’ll be working hard to come back as soon as possible pic.twitter.com/F07OldYdvV
— Sergiño Dest (@sergino_dest) March 18, 2022
Sergiño Dest saved the match here..What a tackle that was! pic.twitter.com/IXTakoF6og
— tayɘf (@tayfiquee) March 18, 2022
Dest even received a piggyback ride from teammate Gavi on the way to the team bus after the match, never a good sign for an athlete to not be able to walk.
❗️❗️Atención como ha llegado Dest al hotel en Estambul (lesión bíceps femoral). Gavi lo entra a caballito. @JugoneslaSexta @elchiringuitotv pic.twitter.com/0a1OVPYR4i
— Josep Soldado Gómez (@JosepSoldado) March 17, 2022
On Friday, Barcelona confirmed a left biceps femoris injury.
MEDICAL NEWS | Tests carried out this morning on @sergino_dest have shown that he has a left biceps femoris injury. He is out and his recovery will determine his availability. pic.twitter.com/fcemL15Fl6
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 18, 2022
Where Is Sergiño Dest?
How long will the Sergiño Dest injury keep him out? According to AS, the strain will require a minimum of three weeks recovery time.
Sergiño Dest, un mínimo de tres semanas KO https://t.co/sV9q1yB1Cv vía @diarioas
— Javi Miguel Club (@fansjavimiguel) March 18, 2022
This means Dest will miss El Clásico and the final three of the USMNT’s World Cup qualifying matches. The U.S. plays at Mexico on March 24, hosts Panama on March 27 and travels to Costa Rica on March 30.
Barcelona is hopeful Dest will return soon after the international break, with some big matches slated for early April. Barça hosts Sevilla on April 3 before two meetings from April 7-14 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarterfinals. Dest was finally becoming a player coach Xavi could rely on after a rocky start to the coach’s tenure.
As for Dest’s next chance with the USMNT, that might come during the first four Concacaf Nations League matches this summer (June 2-14). The injury doesn’t appear significant enough to keep him out of the World Cup in November (should the U.S. qualify), but there’s always a worry about reaggravating a hamstring injury.
The injury is a big blow for the USMNT, as Dest has become one of the Americans’ best fullbacks despite his youth. While not always the best defender, he provides a lot going forward and has produced some spectacular goals for the U.S.
After the Dest injury, Gregg Berhalter moved quickly to replace him on the USMNT roster for the upcoming qualifiers, bringing George Bello into the fold on Friday. Bello is a 20-year-old fullback for Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga with six caps. A lot of fans were hoping for 19-year-old Joe Scally of Borussia Mönchengladbach to get the call, but Berhalter decided it wasn’t the uncapped fullback’s time just yet despite his excellent play in Germany.
ROSTER UPDATE:@_georgebello has been added to the #USMNT roster for our upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers » https://t.co/7yFvGhosVK pic.twitter.com/skNsz79khJ
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) March 18, 2022
Another defender left off the roster is John Brooks. The lanky Wolfsburg defender hasn’t played for the national team since putting forth some disappointing performances in the September qualifiers. After recovering his form with Wolfsburg, he stated his desire to work as hard as possible to get back into the fold on Thursday.
“Months ago, I accepted responsibility for my play and the decision that kept me off a roster,” Brooks said. “Now, I’m happy I’ve regained my form but unfortunately I wasn’t invited to camp. I accept this as the coach’s decision, but I won’t accept that I can’t change this before the final World Cup roster selections.
“There should be no questions about my desire to play for this team. My plan is to fight as hard as I can to make it back to the USMNT. My American identity is at stake, an identity some have questioned over many years. We (Americans) have all been down and out at different times, but we always fight back and I plan to do the same.”
Brooks: “Months ago, I accepted responsibility for my play & the decision that kept me off a roster. Now, I’m happy I’ve regained my form but unfortunately, I wasn’t invited to camp.”
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) March 17, 2022
“My American identity is at stake, an identity some have questioned over many years. We (Americans) have all been down & out at different times, but we always fight back & I plan to do the same.”
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) March 17, 2022
While the USMNT has decent cover in the defender positions, the bigger worry for Berhalter during these March World Cup qualifiers will be dealing with the absence of Weston McKennie. The Juventus midfielder broke his foot in a Champions League match in February, and the Italian club confirmed earlier this month the Texan will miss the remainder of the season.
For more on how to watch the USMNT World Cup qualifiers, click here. For details on what the USMNT needs to do to qualify, click here.
