It's a problem if you think he needs the March international window to establish his credentials with Pochettino. Pepi only has 4 caps under him and has 15 minutes with the team in the last year. Also an issue if you have concerns about being match fit for the start of the tournament, but I don't know if that matters all that much for Pepi - I think he's likely a backup on the US team anyway. Doesn't really need to be 90-minute fit. The timing's a huge bummer in any case. This goalscoring streak was a lot of fun, and paired with the rumors of a big move floating around, it stinks.
Exactly. If it is 3 months (mid-April, when season starts to wind down), He is going to have hardly any time to reintegrate into the team and get back into form and won’t have much time to prove he is healthy and should make the roster without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not like Poch has hinted Pepi is a roster lock in any shape or form. Would I take a healthy Pepi to the WC as a bench option? Hell yes, but I’m not Poch.
3 months from now (if that speculative time table were accurate). Starting on April 11th, PSV would have just 5 more matches. Only 5 matches for Pepi to reintegrate and/or earn a start. 5 matches to get back into goal scoring form. 5 matches to convince Poch he should be a WC roster lock. Not much time at all, the potential to miss a WC should be obvious. (Again, if we are somehow looking at a 3 month absence, which was the speculative timetable I initially replied to).
I was responding to a poster that speculated 3 months out. That would give him only PSV’s final 5 matches to earn a roster spot. Hardly anytime at all. But I am aware that was just a guess at the moment, and I am with you - very thankful it was not a leg injury.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/47573639/usmnt-ricardo-pepi-broken-arm-psv-eindhoven-goal Just saw ESPN confirm a broken forearm, 2 months out is the presumed timetable. That still gives him hope to get back into form and make a WC roster case for himself, as that would give him 8-9 games to reintegrate.
Couldn't he play with a forearm cast + padding? I broke my wrist and still played football, the club was fun. Maybe soccer's a different animal.
Maybe so, but the breaking is bad enough that it requires surgery, so I’m guessing it’s a complicated break
The pluses to this (after the huge, obvious minuses) is less impact on his game than other parts of his body. Sucks a ton, but one can do a lot more to stay in decent shape with this kind of injury (stationary bike etc.) than if it were leg, groin, back or ab related. Small silver lining in a big, unfortunate cloud.
Not a doctor just pretend to be one online, but the surgery not necessary indicates bad break, it might be just to speed up a recovery process.
It must be what is called a displaced fracture. That means pieces have to be put back in place. Probably a pin too.
PSV is saying 2 months, fwiw. He should not lose as much fitness in that time as he would a lower body injury, so if it were really 8 weeks he'll have about 8 matches left in the Ered to get back to it. I'd say his current scoring pace likely helps Poch et al keep an open mind - and the lack of a raft of stellar strikers. Hoping PSV is being conservative on the timeline.
Yes, I do not see why he cannot train with a cast. Hell, he could probably play with the cast, but I understand if they want to be cautious. Mr. Pepi is not skilled in the ways of Ukemi. That was painful to watch. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gbUivEePJCk
PSV is contemplating to hire a replacement striker. They say they have the target list ready. General manager Marcel Brands will sit down with head coach Peter Bosz and technical director Earnest Stewart on Sunday about the striker problem that has arisen at PSV. The three center forwards in the selection are all out of circulation. The transfer market may offer a solution. On Saturday evening, Ricardo Pepi was injured with an arm fracture. As a result, PSV has to miss him for months. And that while Alassane Pléa and Myron Boadu are also in the rags. 'I haven't spoken to Peter after the game,' said Brands in Good Morning Eredivisie. 'We will be in touch today, also with Earnest (Stewart, ed.) to see if we have to do something on the transfer market. It's thin now.' After all, Pléa and Boadu are not back for the time being. 'We estimate that they will be fit again at the end of February or beginning of March. So this is really very sour. Even if we were to get someone now, he would still not be allowed to participate in the two remaining Champions League matches (with Newcastle United and Bayern Munich, ed.). Those are two important matches and we are also still in the cup. In addition, Ruben van Bommel is injured, so that's four strikers.'
Yeah, league isn't a problem but they are really stuck for the CL, except, of course, they've gone this whole time with Til playing CF, so really, they have to... do what they've been doing.
Yep. When he's passed safe for a return to training, he'll be about 90% physically fit and should hit 100% in 2-3 weeks. He could be getting cameos off the bench almost immediately.
Top 5 loan signings are expensive so they're in no position to haggle there or in the purchase market, while a Till injury will be extremely damaging to the CL at least, so PSV do have a dilemma. It' just that the dilemma may not be as acute as it seems. A points advantage of 13 and a GD of 14 cushions them ahead of an unusually favourable run of the 3 bottom sides and only 2nd place Feyenoord (in 3 weeks) from the top 6 in 7 games between now and March. Five points from 3 will surely clinch the league and joint-bottom Breda are on Saturday, with mid-table Sittard next. Could they blood U-23 captain Van Duven (14 goals in 20 U-23 games, trains with the first team) in 20-30 minute cameos to keep Till fresh for Feyenoord and the CL? In the CL they're 4 places and 2 points clear of qualification with every team below them having a negative GD , with Newcastle away on the 21st. If PSV get a result at Newcastle, then all 3 below them would have to win one game, plus one from Benfica, Pafos or USG secure a win and a draw from their 2 games to catch them. That is vanishingly unlikely. Even in England, the Cup is a seriously diminished competition so could they afford to decide rest Till entirely and start van Duven or play another AM or a winger up top, or experiment with a false 9? Earnie Stewart is an excellent GM so they'll have decent targets ready for signature by the 3rd, but a result at Newcastle should secure CL qualification. Then 4 points from the next 2 league games would require Feyenoord to win their next 2 (including the derby) and then win in Eindhoven, just to keep the league alive. Maybe a signing is necessary but it's far from certain.
Just saw this, fwiw: (mid-march for Pepi) After the injury of Ricardo Pepi, PSV will only take the transfer market for a new striker if it is a direct reinforcement, PSV coach Peter Bosz told Tuesday afternoon. All three strikers of the Eredivisie frontrunner are currently injured. Pepi is supposedly disabled with a forearm fracture until mid-March. Myron Boadu is expected back after a knee injury in mid-February. Alassane Pléa tore his cruciate ligament. The Frenchman is already training lightly and hopes to be back on the field before the end of the season. "We could have used Pepi well in the coming weeks with the many matches," Bosz told the cup match against FC Den Bosch on Wednesday night (18.45 hours) on Tuesday. 'You could think of renting' In the selection of PSV are more flavors for the striker position. Midfielders Guus Til and Ismaël Saibari and wing striker Ivan Perisic have also been there once this season. However, it is being looked at after a temporary reinforcement. "But we only do that if we can really find something that is appropriate. They need to be able to handle the level of PSV and be an added value. We're not going to get a striker because then we can say that we have a player extra." None Of The Pigeons Those qualities seem not to be fitting PSV striker Robin van Duiven yet. The 19-year-old forward has already scored fourteen goals for Jong PSV in the first division this season. He will leave at the end of the season transfer-free to the Spanish Real Valladolid. https://nos.nl/artikel/2598000-psv-...ts-halen-die-direct-van-toegevoegde-waarde-is
Yikes, mid-March is cutting it close. Next and final US window before WC squad selection is end of March, and Pepi still has something to prove to Poch. (He was available for Paraguay and Uruguay last window, but Poch only gave him a 15min sub appearance.) Hopefully Poch calls him in and gives him a shot.
He might not have much of a choice. Sargent is fumbling his career at the moment, Dike isn't getting on the field, Gutierrez is playing for Mexico. Outside of Balo, Big Pat, and Haji, there isn't really anyone else. The MLS guys are all in a distant other group.