🇨🇦 + 🇺🇸 = ⚽️ 🔥@itsJoDavid, meet Tim #Weah 🤝 #CanadaRed #USMNT pic.twitter.com/lqVuqC7P3k— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) August 12, 2020
So Weah's not making the bench for these preseason friendlies? I had to bump. He's fallen to the third page
Yeah... at this point I think of Weah as a lottery ticket. I am not even considering him for the USMNT. Sad story of how injuries can completely derail a career. He is still young and talented and could bounce back but if he does it any time soon I would be shocked. In the end, if you can't make the bench for friendlies then the team is probably thinking of you as a lottery ticket for the season as well.
He’s not making the bench for friendlies because they don’t want to risk reinjury. He’s torn the same hamstring three times in one year. They’re not going to play him in any type of game until they’re absolutely sure he’s 100%. The last time they rushed him back, he tore his hamstring 5 minutes into a substitute appearance. The injuries have been a major setback for sure, but it’s a little bit reactionary to say they’ve derailed his career. Let’s be patient and see how he looks when he’s back playing games.
This is my optimistic interpretation as well. According to posts in this thread, he just returned to full training less than 2 weeks ago after not having played at all for ~6 months. It makes sense to give him more time than that to get back to something approaching full fitness before even running him out in a friendly.
I hope you and Large are correct. It would still put him behind the players that are in shape and getting minutes but perhaps all he needs is his chance to prove he belongs? <crossing-fingers>
I wouldn’t be worried about him getting chances to play if he’s healthy. They got rid of Osimhen and Remy and replaced them with Yilmaz and David. There will plenty of playing time to go around. They clearly rate him, and brought him into a big game vs. Marseille right after his second hamstring tear. The real questions will be if he has declined physically and if he can avoid another reinjury. I think he’ll be able to overcome this if his hamstring is able to hold up. Even if these injuries have somewhat reduced his acceleration or speed, he never really relied on that to begin with (besides when pressing). It probably lowers his ceiling, but his strength is in passing and combining. I’m more confident in him changing his play style to compensate for a lack of athleticism than a player like Pulisic who relies on elite burst to dribble past defenders.
He literally started training with the team 13 days ago after a year or so off. I'm cool with a measured introduction to playing in matches. That said, I consider most 20 year olds that show promise a lottery ticket to pan out for the USNT.
Tim #Weah: "The joy of being back on the field with my brothers after 1 year of staying mentally strong and training hard to regain full fitness ......... I ain’t eat at all last year I’m real hungry nowwwwww just know that no🧢😤!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 👉 Insta: @timothyweah #USMNT pic.twitter.com/N8iKnFeP9v— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) August 18, 2020
Yeah I think that's fair. But the impatience is growing strong. That being said he should be more than a lottery ticket at this point. He received a fair amount of playing time on a pretty strong Celtic team as a 19 year old. That suggests he's most likely good enough to be a solid professional going forward.
Canadian forward Jonathan David has joined Tim at Lille in a $30 million move from Ghent. Coincidentally both players were born in Brooklyn, though the Davids were passing through. Fuhgeddaboudit!
Celtic fan favorite too. My son was over there at the time, and he reported chants of “Timo! Timo!” in bars while he played.
Lille’s manager said that Weah will not play in the Ligue 1 opener on Saturday. He has taken part in full training for 15 days, but “has to resume with friendlies.” I appreciate the abundance of caution and hope that it works in minimizing his risk of re injury. Galtier : « Je ne peux pas compter sur Leo Jardim, toujours en réathlétisation, sur Tim Weah, qui s'entraîne normalement depuis 15 jours mais qui doit reprendre par des amicaux, et Gabriel pour #LOSCSRFC. »— Le Petit Lillois ⚜️ (@LePetitLillois) August 20, 2020