United States squad including Leeds United's Brenden Aaronson sees several players return to clubs early
The United States Men's National Team has seen five players withdraw from Mauricio Pochettino's squad ahead of this week's friendly with Mexico at Akron Stadium.
Marlon Fossey, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen have all returned to their club sides following the 2-0 friendly win over Panama last weekend, but Leeds United's Brenden Aaronson is staying put.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder played 78 minutes as the US defeated Panama in a friendly and is likely to feature for a similar duration on Wednesday morning when the USMNT take on Mexico.
“Having played a significant amount of minutes in the last month for the USMNT and AC Milan,Christian Pulisic has been released back to his club for load management. Marlon Fossey, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi and Zack Steffen have minor injuries and will return to their clubs for continued evaluation and treatment”, a USMNT statement read.
Aaronson and the US will kick off at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara during the early hours of Wednesday morning, U.K. time, leaving him with limited preparation for Leeds' return to domestic action against Sheffield United on Friday evening.
The Whites host Chris Wilder's Blades at Elland Road seeking to get one over on their Yorkshire rivals, who could also prove to be promotion contenders alongside Daniel Farke's side this season.
Aaronson's route back to Thorp Arch following international duty could see him return to the U.K. on Wednesday evening, although it is most likely he will touch down in England again on Thursday, one day before Leeds' tenth Championship fixture of the season.
Should he miss Farke's final team training session on Thursday, it is possible the manager will select an alternate to play in the No. 10 role which Aaronson has made his own since returning from a season-long loan at Union Berlin last season.
As ever, it is hoped Aaronson comes through Wednesday morning's friendly unscathed and reports back for training with Leeds having avoided injury given the club's present injury problems.