USMNT star Tyler Adams has undergone back surgery and will miss the opening months of the Premier League season, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has revealed.
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Speaking ahead of Bournemouth’s preseason tour of the USA (they play against Wrexham and Arsenal in California over the next week) Iraola gave details of how Adams was struggling with a back injury at the end of last season after his return from a long injury layoff which saw him make just four Premier League appearances last season.
Iraola explained that Adams then went to play for the USMNT at Copa America this summer hoping that the back issue would calm down but it instead got worse and the central midfielder has had surgery.
Per the BBC, Bournemouth advised U.S. Soccer to take it easy with Adams but he played in a friendly against Brazil before Copa America and all three Copa America games as the USMNT crashed out at the group stage.
Tyler Adams injury update
“He finished the season with an injury in his back,” Iraola said. “He wanted to play Copa America because it was very important for him, but he had restrictions and was still in pain, so two days after they were knocked out, he had surgery.
“He is out for some time. It is difficult to say how long but he won’t be fit for the start of the season. But September? October? I don’t know.”
"With Tyler we have a situation, he's going to be out for some time, the pain in his back has meant surgery and it was a decision he had to take"#AFCB boss Andoni Iraola provides the latest on Tyler Adams' injury after playing in the Copa América🍒
— BBC Radio Solent Sport (@solentsport) July 20, 2024
Click to listen here 👇 pic.twitter.com/DTujSxVYZf
Iraola was also asked if Bournemouth had tried to stop Adams playing for the USMNT but he said that would never happen as the national team chose to select Adams and “he wanted to play thinking the injury would get better but he felt it was getting worse.”
Latest setback for USMNT captain
Ever since Adams injured his hamstring while playing for Leeds United in March 2023 he has had an absolute nightmare with injuries.
After Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in the summer of 2023 he joined Bournemouth for $25.8 million but has hardly featured for the Cherries. The 25-year-old finally looked to be getting back to full fitness and scored a stunner for the USMNT in March 2024 as they beat Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League final.
But Adams’ struggles continued at the end of last season and although he battled through Copa America, he is now back in the treatment room and will miss preseason and the opening months of the Premier League season.
He cannot catch a break and arguably the USMNT’s most influential and important cog will continue to be playing catch up. The longer this run of bad luck with injuries, particularly to his back and hamstring, the more USMNT fans will worry that Adams’ career could be severely impacted.