Almost a year has passed since Antonee Robinson last played for the U.S. men's national team, an absence caused by a knee injury that left coach Mauricio Pochettino without a vital figure in the long buildup to the 2026 World Cup.
AUSTIN, Texas — Almost a year has passed since Antonee Robinson last played for the U.S. men's national team, an absence caused by a knee injury that left coach Mauricio Pochettino without a vital figure in the long buildup to the 2026 World Cup. But as next summer’s tournament draws closer, the man known as “Jedi” for his love of all things “Star Wars” is back in camp this week.
Consider it the, ahem, return of the Jedi.
He is admittedly not at full strength and has played sparingly for Fulham FC this season. He will log limited minutes in the friendlies against Ecuador on Friday here in the Texas capital and Australia on Tuesday in greater Denver.
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Most importantly, though, the reliable left back has rejoined the U.S. squad for the first time since the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals against Jamaica last November.
“Still not quite back to feeling 100 percent on it as I was a year ago before the injury first happened,” he said Wednesday after U.S. training. “But getting there slowly, and it's nice to come out here. The medical team and the coaches have a different set of eyes on it.”
With just two camps after this one before the World Cup roster is selected, Pochettino is narrowing his player pool. He is well-versed in Robinson’s skill set, having seen him excel in England over the years and having him in his initial camps after taking the U.S. helm last fall.
But now Pochettino can begin reintegrating him into the evolving U.S. plans, even if it’s within a cautious framework.
“He is an important player for us; it’s a moment to bring him in,” Pochettino said. “Of course, we were talking with his club, and we are going to try to manage him in the best way, but it’s important that he can be with us, with the group, with [his] teammates.”
Robinson, a 2022 World Cup starter, has been gradually getting up to speed with Fulham: 29 minutes against Manchester United, 24 against Chelsea, a full 90 against fourth-flight Cambridge United in a League Cup match, and 11 against Aston Villa. Last weekend he was in uniform against Bournemouth but did not play.
He described it as “a few spells coming on here and there.”
Even when fully fit, Robinson is not guaranteed to regain his starting job with the Premier League club. In Robinson’s absence, Ryan Sessegnon has performed well. Failure to play regularly for his club would undoubtedly impact his standing with the national team; ahead of a World Cup, Pochettino wants his players playing regularly and in good form in their everyday job.
“It's going to be difficult for me to get my place back in the [Fulham] team,” Robinson admitted. “So I'm just going to have to try and raise my level as high as I can and be ready to be called upon when needed.”
Robinson, 28, was the U.S. Soccer Federation’s male player of the year in 2024 and reached the 50-cap milestone in his international career. While on U.S. duty last October, however, he began experiencing knee problems.
“I basically got a dead leg on the top of my knee,” he said. He developed tendinopathy, which “was pretty painful from probably November onwards, for the rest of the duration of the season” in May.
Robinson continued to play for Fulham but skipped the USMNT’s failed Nations League effort in March in Inglewood, California.
Days after going the distance in the Premier League closer against Manchester City, he underwent surgery to clean up the calcification in his tendon. Consequently, he was ruled out of U.S. summer activities. Last month, still not ready for international demands, he was left off the roster for friendlies against South Korea and Japan.
“Tendon injuries, they're known to take a long time to adapt and get back to normal,” Robinson said. “But I'm getting there and doing everything I can to make sure I can stay fit and get back to where I was.”
Robinson’s absence afforded an opportunity for Pochettino to take a hard look at others to both fill the starting job and strengthen depth. The Columbus Crew’s Max Arfsten has been the primary beneficiary, parlaying his U.S. debut early this year into regular assignments at left back or left wing back. Arfsten, 24, leads the team with 11 starts.
Inheriting a team that has long played with a four-man backline, Pochettino last month effectively deployed a three-man line with two wing backs against Japan in Columbus, Ohio. Robinson has played a wing-back role for Fulham (and, at times, during U.S. in-game adjustments).
“It's pretty dynamic and fluid,” he said. “It keeps other teams guessing. It keeps us flexible and I think it really, really suits this team.”
Being away from the national team for so long was “very difficult,” Robinson said.
“Not winning the Nations League and the Gold Cup — trophies that we take pretty seriously — was disappointing,” he said. “The fact you have to watch and you can't contribute, I'd said I'd rather be there and be the one taking responsibility on the field, win or lose, than have to watch and not be able to help out.”
At the same time, he added, “my absence let other players be able to step in and try to prove themselves. It’s made the squad deeper, which is always nice and a good opportunity for the coaches to build competition, which, being a competitive national team, is only going to help us going forward.”
For the man called “Jedi,” there is a new hope.
Category: General Sports
