ARLINGTON, Texas — United States international forward Haji Wright has been ruled out for the remainder of the Concacaf Gold Cup due to an Achilles injury, U.S. Soccer announced on Saturday.
In a statement, the USSF added that Wright “will return to Coventry City for further evaluation and treatment.” Tournament rules stipulate that Wright can’t be replaced on the U.S. roster.
Wright, 27, scored as a substitute in the USMNT’s 5-0 tournament-opening win over Trinidad and Tobago, but he was held out of training in the run-up to the match against Saudi Arabia and was left off the game-day roster.
After the match, U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino said that an announcement regarding Wright’s status would be made in the coming days.
Wright was seen with his teammates getting off the bus prior to Saturday’s training session but was limited to gym work, according to a team spokesperson.
The injury is a tough blow for Wright, who was coming off a solid season with Coventry City in England’s second-tier Championship, scoring 12 goals in 31 league and cup appearances.
He had also been hoping to make a significant impression on Pochettino given that other forwards like AS Monaco’s Folarin Balogun, PSV Eindhoven’s Ricardo Pepi and Norwich City’s Josh Sargent were all not named to the final Gold Cup roster.
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