Besler Misses World Cup Qualifier Due to Reported Concussion

The US Men's national team limped to a 2-0 loss in Guatemala tonight with a lackadaisical performance that saw them completely out coached and played off the field. One of the big things before the game even started was the reports that two of the team's center backs, John Brooks and Matt Besler would miss the game due to injury. Brooks left camp and returned to Germany to rehab after suffering a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Besler, Sporting KC's captain suffered a concussion in training on Tuesday. Besler is currently going through US Soccer's concussion protocols to determine if he'll be able to go in this coming Tuesday's qualifier which is also against Guatemala. The protocol saw Besler pulled from practice and underwent an evaluation that included a standardized acute concussion evaluation using a SCAT3. Besler must now return to his base level of testing before he will be allowed to return to undergo further post-injury neurocognitive testing to confirm that he is indeed back to his full level neurologically.

With concussions though it is not something that you rush back from or else you risk further concussions and injuries. Besler returning by Tuesday for the game against Guatemala in Columbus would be a surprise. In fact at this point I think you have to think that Besler is a serious doubt to play next weekend for Sporting Kansas City when they host Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park. Last year when Graham Zusi and Seth Sinovic both suffered concussions against DC United, Zusi missed 11 days before returning to the bench for Kansas City and 14 days before he returned to action. Sinovic meanwhile missed a lot more time, missing three and a half months of the season for KC before making his return on August 29th.

What that means for Sporting is that I wouldn't expect Besler in uniform on the second against RSL. Based on today's story from the KC Star, I'd probably be getting ready for a center back partnership of Nuno Coelho and Kevin Ellis.