USMNT’s Ricardo Pepi set for surgery after breaking forearm in PSV win | PSV Eindhoven
United States men’s national team forward Ricardo Pepi is expected to be out for around two months after fracturing his forearm while playing for PSV Eindhoven on Saturday, the Dutch club confirmed.
Pepi, 23, was injured after landing awkwardly after scoring PSV’s second goal in their Eredivisie match against Excelsior. Medical tests carried out later that night at a hospital revealed a fracture and the club announced that Pepi would undergo surgery on Sunday. PSV indicated no complications but ruled out the striker for the immediate future.
“It didn’t look good straight away and at such a moment you would prefer to look away,” PSV head coach Peter Bosz said in a statement. “Last January, Ricardo was already out because of his knee injury. It won’t last that long now, but unfortunately we lost him again.”
Pepi was sent off shortly after the incident and did not return to the match, which PSV won by a score of 5–1. The setback ends a period of great form for the American striker, who had been recovering after recovering from his previous knee problem.
“Pepi was on a good run, had a solid training camp and was back,” Bosz said. “He became more confident in the round and was in that good flow again. All the signs were green for a good second half of the season, so it’s incredibly disappointing. First and foremost for him and obviously for us as well.”
The injury also raises questions for the United States as it prepares for this summer’s World Cup. Pepi has been a regular presence in the national team setup, scoring 13 goals in 34 appearances and featuring in the last international window in November.
As the United States prepare to open their World Cup campaign on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Pepi now faces a race against time to return to full fitness, while his availability for upcoming friendlies against Belgium on March 28 and Portugal three days later remains uncertain.
