United States captain Tyler Adams thinks he can play at least 45 minutes when he returns to the national team for the first time since the 2022 World Cup for a Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Jamaica on Thursday.
Adams tore his right hamstring in training with Leeds United in March 2023 and was limited to one match and 21 minutes over the next year. He returned Sept. 27 and reinjured the leg in his Bournemouth debut, requiring a second operation. Adams made it back on the field last week, playing 20 minutes against Luton Town.
The rehab process was a long and enduring one, Adams said Monday during a videoconference from training camp in Arlington, Texas, after being called into Gregg Berhalter’s Nations League team.
“You learn a lot about yourself in those tough moments because in those moments there’s no headlines about you. There’s no people talking about you anymore,” Adams said. “All of a sudden, you, like, fall off a cliff and you’re kind of irrelevant in that moment.