Jozy Altidore is Out 4-5 Weeks, Here Are Six Players Who Could Take His Spot at the Gold Cup

Jozy Altidore will miss the next 4-5 weeks with a hamstring injury. Hamstring injuries and Altidore bring back memories of the 2014 World Cup when the American forward went down 20 minutes into the opening match vs. Ghana and didn’t return for the rest of the tournament. In Brazil, the U.S. didn’t have an adequate replacement for Altidore and paid the price.

His latest injury rules him out for the high-profile U.S. friendlies with the Netherlands and Germany in early June. The CONCACAF Gold Cup begins July 7. If today’s reports are accurate, Altidore should be healed by then, but how much soccer will he have played and will he be ready for 90 minutes of tournament action? The Gold Cup doesn’t get a lot of love in America, but the winner of this year’s tournament will play the U.S. (the 2013 winner) in a playoff to determine who goes to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. If the U.S. wins, it qualifies automatically, meaning another chance for the USMNT to play against some of the world’s best in a tournament that carries more significance than mid-March friendlies.

With or without Altidore, the U.S. striker pool remains in flux. He’s scored twice in 2015 and started in four of the five USMNT friendlies. That said, developing some depth behind him inching toward 2018 is another task for Jurgen Klinsmann with another candidate, Terrence Boyd, out with an ACL tear suffered in December. Here are six guys who might play in no particular order.

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Aron Jóhannsson — At the World Cup last year Jóhannsson was neither 100 percent fit or ready to carry to the burden of a lone striker. He’s finally healthy now and scoring goals for AZ in the Netherlands, including this beauty over the weekend. The knock on Jóhannsson was he isn’t adept at playing as a lone striker, but he’s been doing that with his Dutch club and his form is excellent heading into the end of the season. [Customary disclaimer about scoring goals in the Eredivisie.] You’d think he’d be penciled in to start the two European friendlies, but conventional wisdom and Klinsmann rarely go in the same sentence.

Gyasi Zardes — One way or another the Galaxy homegrown player is going to be in the mix for the U.S. this summer, but will it be at striker? He’s played in all five USMNT friendlies in 2015, twice at striker (with a partner), attacking midfield and twice in the right of midfielder. Starting either the Netherlands or Germany game with a Jóhannsson-Zardes pairing seems reasonable — playing a lone, inexperienced striker against the Dutch or reigning World Cup champs seems like a recipe for disaster.

Jordan Morris — What’s that about unconventional thinking? Klinsmann for all his talk about wanting his players at the highest level of competition is still happy to use Morris, a Stanford sophomore, making it feel more like 1985 than 2015. Morris did score vs. Mexico last month. At 20 years old he’s hardly young by soccer standards. International soccer is often about opportunities.

Chris Wondolowski — Not really the “sexy” pick, but the 32-year-old is a solid pro and scored five times at the 2013 Gold Cup. If Altidore isn’t fit by July the San Jose Earthquakes captain is going to see significant minutes in the tournament. Whatever your big picture thoughts are on MLS, it’s helped develop serviceable professionals like Wondolowski, which is a good thing.

Juan Agudelo — Hopefully Klinsmann gives Agudelo some run in the next couple weeks. Now 22-years-old and settled with the New England Revolution, he is in the right place to make the most of the opportunity, even if it comes via an injury to an international teammate. He scored last month vs. Mexico — his first for the U.S. since 2011. Moving forward in 2015 that might end up meaning more than Morris’.

Clint Dempsey — In 2015, ideally, does the U.S. want to go into a tournament with Clint Dempsey playing forward, as opposed to support striker or somewhere else in the attacking third? Probably not, but the 32-year-old is the co-leading scorer in MLS with seven goals.

Others to consider: Bobby Wood, Charlie Davies.