Injuries force U.S. roster shakeup in Cup qualifiers

Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Gyasi Zardes will miss the United States’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers after he was injured Saturday night during a Major League Soccer game.

Already without forward Clint Dempsey as he undergoes evaluations for an irregular heartbeat, the Americans won’t have Zardes for their final two games of the CONCACAF semifinals.

Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is mostly sticking with the squad that finished fourth in the Centennial Copa America this summer, and that includes Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski.

“They deserve to come back and confirm what they did in the tournament,” Klinsmann said.

Former Stanford forward Jordan Morris, 21, who is having an excellent rookie year with MLS’ Seattle Sounders but was left off the Copa America squad, was added to the 26-man roster announced Sunday.

Klinsmann plans to bring only 23 players on the road when the Americans face St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday. The U.S. then hosts Trinidad and Tobago in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 6.

Midfielder Jermaine Jones is rehabbing from a knee injury but is on the roster with the hope that he can play. Jozy Altidore and Omar Gonzalez are back after missing the Copa America with injuries.

The Americans are second behind Trinidad and Tobago in Group C. The top two teams advance to the six-nation CONCACAF finals, from which three automatically make the field for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

If the U.S. wins Friday and Trinidad beats Guatemala that day, the Americans move on with one match to go. Michael Bradley (yellow card accumulation) and Michael Orozco (red card from Copa third-place game) are suspended for the first game.

Sunday’s highlights: Raheem Sterling scored twice and Manchester City beat West Ham 3-1 to join Manchester United and Chelsea atop the English Premier League at 3-0 . ... Ivan Rakitic scored in the first half to help Barcelona win 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao for a second straight victory at the start of the Spanish league season . ... Monaco beat defending champion Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 to tie Guingamp and Nice at the top of the French league . ... In MLS, Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his 16th goal in the 55th minute and the host New York Red Bulls beat the New England Revolution 1-0 . ... The host Portland Timbers scored four goals in the first half, then held off Seattle 4-2, snapping the Sounders’ five-game unbeaten streak. Morris scored for Seattle.