Hamstring strain sidelines USA captain Dempsey
United States captain Clint Dempsey suffered a right hamstring strain in training and will not play in two American friendlies in Europe, the US Soccer Federation announced Tuesday.
The former Fulham striker, now with Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders, suffered the injury Monday in Zurich ahead of Wednesday's match against Denmark at Aarhus. He has returned to Seattle and is expected to miss two or three weeks. The Americans will also face Switzerland next Tuesday in Zurich.
No roster replacement will be added for the Danish match, officials said, leaving the USA squad with only three forwards -- Toronto's Jozy Altidore, Utrecht's Rubio Rubin and AZ Alkmaar's Aron Johannsson.
The Americans will make another trip to Europe in June, facing the Netherlands in Amsterdam and world champions Germany in Cologne. Those will be tuneup matches for next July's CONCACAF Gold Cup, the North American continental tournament in which the USA side can clinch a spot in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.