US defenders Brooks and Yedlin to miss Gold Cup

MIAMI: American defender John Brooks (pic) will miss the Concacaf Gold Cup because of a knee ligament injury, joining DeAndre Yedlin on the sidelines.

Brooks, a central defender, did not play in Wolfsburg’s last two games of the Bundesliga season. Yedlin, a rightback, had left groin surgery last week.

Concacaf champions US announced the preliminary 40-man roster on Monday. US coach Gregg Berhalter must select 23 players by early June.

The Americans open training camp next week in Annapolis, Maryland, but some Gold Cup players will not report until the following week.

Among the omissions on the preliminary roster are goalkeeper Bill Hamid, and forwards Bobby Wood and Andrew Wooten.

Winger Tyler Boyd is on the preliminary roster after FIFA approved his switch from New Zealand to the US. Others on the 40-man list include 20-year-old Fulham defender Marlon Fossey, 22-year-old Celtic defender Andrew Gutman who is on loan to Charlotte, Derby midfielder Duane Holmes and Duisburg forward Joe Gyau.

The US will have exhibitions against Jamaica on June 5 at Washington and Venezuela on June 9 at Cincinnati.

The Americans open their Gold Cup title defence against Guyana on June 18 at St. Paul, Minnesota. It will be their first competitive match in 20 months since an October 2017 loss at Trinidad and Tobago caused them to miss the 2018 World Cup. They play Trinidad on June 22 at Cleveland and complete group play against Panama on June 26 at Kansas City, Kansas.

The Gold Cup is the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.