Johnny Cardoso left Atletico Madrid’s training session on Thursday, putting his FIFA World Cup hopes in jeopardy.
Cardoso was diagnosed with a high-grade right ankle sprain, the club announced Thursday. The U.S. men’s national team midfielder could not complete Thursday’s training session due to the injury and was taken for scans at the club’s training facility.
He will now perform physiotherapy sessions and rehabilitation work before Atletico Madrid can determine a timeline for his recover, per a club statement.
Cardoso made the move to Atletico Madrid last July from Real Betis, but has struggled to play a consistent role at times in the squad. The New Jersey native most recently made his 30th appearance of the season in all competitions, featuring off the bench on Tuesday in Atletico’s UEFA Champions League elimination at Arsenal.
Cardoso did play 45 minutes in the USMNT’s 5-2 friendly loss to Belgium during the March international window, but left camp after the match due to a left injury. He’s earned 23 caps to date and was part of the USMNT’s CONCACAF Gold Cup roster last summer under Mauricio Pochettino.
Cardoso’s new injury could rule him out of Pochettino’s final World Cup roster, which is set to be announced on May 26. The USMNT will then face Senegal and Germany in their final pre-World Cup tuneups.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico squad are sitting fourth in La Liga with four matches to go. They have not yet clinched a top-four finish and could potentially drop to fifth if they fail to win any of their remaining fixtures.
Up next for Atletico Madrid is a home date with Celta Vigo on Saturday before final matches against Osasuna, Girona, and Villarreal over the next two weeks.