Beasley could miss rest of European season

DaMarcus Beasley looks to be out for the year with damaged knee ligaments, according to the Glasgow Daily Record. Beasley injured his left knee after colliding with Stuttgart goalkeeper Raphael Schafer during Stuttgart's 3-2 Champions League win against Rangers on Wednesday.

If Beasley has torn knee ligaments, he could be sidelined through the summer, with a fall return likely at best. Torn ligaments would also mean that the U.S. national team winger would almost certainly miss the U.S. team's second-round World Cup qualifying match against the Barbados/Dominica winner and could lead to him missing some games in the first group stage of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

The injury comes just as fellow American left winger Bobby Convey has recovered from his own injury issues. The U.S. team will lean heavily on Convey come the summer (if he is healthy) and will also need to turn to veteran winger Eddie Lewis as well. Lewis has remained on the U.S. team radar in recent months despite his age (33).

As it stands, the Glasgow Daily Record is reporting this exclusively. I will post further confirmation as it surfaces.

What do you think of this potentially devastating news? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[PKTaker]

could this open up a spot for freddy instead of convey?

[Joamiq]

Dammit dammit dammit. Just when it looked like he was back on the rise...
Freddy already has a spot, more or less. It's now Convey's time. Of course, we have to pray that his injury woes don't return...

[Brad]

Let's hope Convey has looked better in recent weeks than when he played after just coming back from injury. He looked god awful at that point.

As for Adu, I hope that he is at least in consideration for a starting spot at this point. He's creative on the ball and he's ALWAYS a threat on free kicks.

Either way, it completely sucks b/c Beasley's been playing pretty well AND he has enough hustle and speed in him to play defense and offense out wide.

[Ed Ho]

This is really disappointing. Beasely was having a great year at both Rangers (in league and CL) as well as being rock solid for the national team. I hope he has a full and speady recovery.

As for National team options to fill in, I would like to see Landon played out there. Also, try Dempsy back at wing with LD partnering with Jozy up top. Another option is to play Bornstein out there. He is questionable in defense at Left back, but shown he can get forward and would be a very good fit.

[PanchoMiguelMoralesdeConejo]

The problem with considering Adu on the left is that your LB is going to have to be a tougher defender than usual, as Adu lacks in tracking back on D. Bornstein would venture forward to often, Pearce? maybe, he most certainly did not impress in S. Africa as he lacked cohesion with Beaseley.

[Eric]

This is sad. Beasley's always seemed to be made of rubber. This also concerns me because the last time after being injured, he was really tentative for a very long time. Right during '06. Sure hope he rounds back into form by '10.

[Braden]

Wow... Seriously injured at PSV, significant injury at Man City, and another serious injury at Rangers. This is not only sad, but tragic. So much potential and once he's healthy again he'll be 26 and will not have played an injury-free season for the last three years.

As for the national team, I'd say we have Adu, Convey, Lewis, and Mapp that could cover the left side. We won't have Beasley's speed, but at least it's not as bad as having Dempsey or Bocanegra get injured (knockin' on wood).

[PKTaker]

it truly is sad about beasley. hopefully he can return to his current form. as for adu, he could be used as a winger in a 433. he'd have cover and would be free to create.

[jrnail]

Please, please, no more Eddie Lewis...
I'd kinda like to see us go to some version of a 4-3-3 like this:

--------Jozy/Ching---------

Donovan-------------Dempsey

Edu----Bradley----Feilhaber

Pearce/Bornstein-------Dolo
------Boca------Gooch------

-----------Howard----------

You could plug Freddy in at either of the two wing spots, and instead of Eddie Lewis, we could see guys like Justin Mapp, Chris Rolfe, and Bobby Convey coming off the bench there.
This formation works since we have so many CM/D-mids... we can also bring in Rico Clark, Danny Szetela, Mastroeni, etc. in those spots.

[Felix]

That sucks for Beasley. I hope he heals soon and can get back on track. It looks like things were going really well for him over there at Rangers.
I hope Convey takes advantage of this opportunity.

[Kris]

he was the best, most consistent player on the national team in my opinion. this is tragic. at least he'll be back for the World Cup in 2010.

[green]

Brad Davis anyone?

[Ed Ho]

Brad Davis - seriously? Brad's a nice player and went to my Alma Matter, but his lack of speed don't lend itself to that position on the national team.

I would agree with JrNail, that Mapp should get another look. I'm not that high on Convey. I'd like to see him prove it again at Reading.

[Jasen]

Ives, no thoughts on the waiver draft today, and the list of guys made available?

seemed kind of intriguing to me, especially considering a couple of the names (Ramon Nunez and Carlos Pavon)

[Brad]

I'd trade Pavon for some Handi-Snacks and an apple.

[eric]

Ugh, that's sickening. I'll do a "Get Well Soon" dance around my Beasley jersey. I was hoping that BB would catch on how well he was playing on the RW for Rangers and try him out there on the 'Nats.

[Andrew]

Wow. Crappy. This sucks for the fact that he was having a great year at rangers and also that we probably won't have him when qualifiers start.

The only upside I see from this is that we at least have depth at the LW spot. I'm sure we will see convey get looks very soon, along with mapp, lewis and....heath pearce? Yep, Pearce played LW in college and has played LW for Hansa Rostock numerous times. Not saying that he'll be amazing or anything there, but something to consider.

I think putting adu there wouldn't be the smartest decision, considering he's naturally right-footed (I'm sure he's probably ambidextrous but still) and he'd be playing out of position. We have plenty of LW prospects to consider, it just really stinks that we lost our best one.

[Chris]

I agree with green. Brad Davis is a totally different kind of left-winger than Beasley. And his lack of pace might get exposed against top-flight competition. But for qualifying matches I think Davis would be a smart addition to the team. He has a great left foot, some deceptive moves with the ball at his feet, and his free kicks can be spectacular.

[PKTaker]

adu is naturally right-footed??

anyway, putting adu on the left side doesn't mean he has to stay there. he could have the freedom to roam.

[Paul Lorinczi]

This sucks for Beasley considering he has been playing well this year and contributing to Rangers.

That reason alone makes this bad news.

[randall]

with convey, mapp, and...sigh, even the fifty three year old lewis we should be able to handle the loss. we wont face an opponent in a meaningless game that "should" trouble us until next spring.

as for adu on the left...really? i mean...really? why not altidore on the left- he was poorly used there in mls, too. even in a 4-3-3 adu is the wing forward, not midfielder. i guess bornstein is a reasonable option (at least that would allow for a decent defender in the back), but i dont think this is as troubling to the nats as it seems. its a deep position for us at a "good" time.

best of luck to beas on his recovery- the only devastating loss is his.

[Matt]

Justin Mapp?

[doug]

hard luck for RUN DMB. he was making an impression on Rangers' fans and coaches. all the best to him to return soon. In the meantime, how about giving Justin Mapp some love on that left wing

[Braden]

I really like the idea of moving to an actual 4-3-3. We seem to have an abundance of attacking and defensive mids, but no really good wingers (now that we don't have Beasley). And it's not like Convey or Lewis has anyone to cross to, which is their specialty.

This would allow the US to use all its talented mids without worrying about Donovan, Dempsey, or Adu being forced to spend the game marking the opposing wingers.

[hoya]

Loving this 4-3-3 idea, IMO the only drawback when where at full strength is that Beasley one of our best 2-3 players wouldnt fit too well. Of course with Beas out its perfect. Get well soon Beas.