Johnny Cardoso withdraws from USMNT roster due to ankle injury

Johnny Cardoso will not play a part with the U.S. men’s national team squad this November.

Cardoso, who has continued to feature regularly at club level with Internacional, has withdrawn from the USMNT squad due to an ankle injury, U.S. Soccer announced Monday. There will be no replacement for Cardoso on Gregg Berhalter’s roster, leaving the squad at 23 players.

“I think Johnny’s been playing really well at his club with some really great performances and that’s why we called him in because we had expected him to make a contribution,” USMNT assistant coach B.J. Callaghan said Monday. “Unfortunately with the injury, that’s not the case, but I think for us it’s an area that we have a lot of depth.

“We expect other guys to be able to get opportunities and step up and I think for the way we look at all of these situations where guys get injured is that one of the greatest strengths of our team is the depth and I think we’re able to sort of go to the next guy up and don’t have any concern with that” he added.

The 22-year-old has scored two goals and registered two assists in 46 combined appearances for Internacional this season. Cardoso has featured in four different competitions including the Copa Libertadores, Brazilian Serie A, and Copa do Brazil.

In total, Cardoso has made 141 combined appearances for Internacional, scoring seven goals and adding five assists. He most recently played 79 minutes in a 3-0 league loss to Palmeiras.

Cardoso has earned seven USMNT caps to date after debuting in November 2020.

The USMNT faces Trinidad & Tobago on Nov. 16 and 20 respectively in CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal action.