Matt Turner had a bad feeling.
That’s what he told TV reporters after a game that he had exited painfully, and thus increased the chances of the United States’ men’s national team doing the same from this tournament on Monday.
A fractious night of drama in Atlanta spawned various concerning narratives around the hosts’ prospects at Copa America, but chief among them will be whether the 30-year-old can recover in time to face Uruguay.
Turner was forced off with an injury that may yet cause him to miss the all-or-nothing final USMNT group clash in Kansas City.
The good news is that early signs are positive and there is a belief around the camp that the Nottingham Forest man will be available. His left leg will be assessed over the next 48 hours.
Turner receives treatment during the Panama defeat (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
There is an argument to say, however, the robust challenge from Cesar Blackman — which was not punished by referee Ivan Barton — has already cost his team one goal. Turner seemed a split-second off when the same player beat him 10 minutes later and, unless he is moving freely by Monday, he cannot be risked against a team that just smashed five past Bolivia.
It’s important to note that shot-stopping is one of Tuner’s main strengths and those familiar with his overall game would have expected he would get a glove on a shot that close to him, after he had made two small shuffling steps towards his right in anticipation before Blackman struck. It is also possible that his reactions were slower due to the ball coming through team-mate Chris Richards’ legs as he and Tim Ream faced up to the Panama midfielder.
Blackman’s strike just evaded Turner (Eduardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images)
Either way, it was costly for the U.S. but not as costly as Panama’s second. Enter Ethan Horvath, who also should have done better with the Jose Fajardo strike that condemned the U.S. to defeat. It was a rocket but it was straight at him.
The man who started last season at the same English club, Nottingham Forest, as his compatriot, could now face the challenge of replacing him from the start against Uruguay.
Neither man had an especially fun season in England. Turner lost his place to January signing Matz Sels, while Horvath was left out of Forest’s squad for the entire season despite helping Luton Town into the top flight during a loan spell in 2022-23.
It has not deterred Gregg Berhalter from retaining them in the international fold but Turner is his locked-in number one. Horvath has not started for his country since a friendly win over Oman last September.
He has come from the bench to be a saviour before, however. Now the Colorado native will hope to recapture the defiant spirit of his penalty save in the 2021 Nations League final. Back then he replaced the injured Zak Steffen and saved a penalty save in second-half stoppage time, in extra time, to thwart Mexico and bring the silverware home.
At the Mercedes-Benz stadium on Thursday he could not manage to male a similar impact. But if called upon he can take heart from the second half of last season, when he joined Championship club Cardiff City and wrestled the starting spot from Jak Alnwick.
After joining the Welsh club permanently in January, Horvath did not look back, starting each of their remaining 16 games from February onwards and keeping four clean sheets.
Turner will be desperate to play. After all, everything is on the line for the USMNT. He has, though, already spoken of how his experience in the game has prompted him to listen to his body and put that ahead of his desire to push himself through the pain barrier.
Before the Qatar World Cup in 2022 he missed three fixtures for then club Arsenal. Turner had strained his groin during a training session the morning of Arsenal’s Europa League match at PSV Eindhoven in October. He had been set to start, but ended up pulling out. He remained out for Arsenal’s next two contests, including a Europa League match on November 3 against Zurich.
Scans taken the following day confirmed the strain. Had he tried to play in the match, Turner would’ve run the risk of injuring himself far more seriously. But it was “one of the hardest things” he has ever done. As the backup at Arsenal, Europa League contests were his only opportunities to play, while missing any matches ahead of the World Cup meant less game action for him when he was trying to get sharp for Qatar.
“I actually was like on the border of tears,” he told The Athletic in 2022. “I know that sounds a bit soft, but I’ve never had to do that before. I’ve never had to really listen to my body and feel like maybe it wasn’t the right move to push through something, because I’ve pushed through many injuries in my career, many little nicks that might have held someone else out, that’s never been my M.O.
“So to go against everything that was ingrained in me and look out for myself was challenging, and that can be hard in professional sports.”
Everyone around the U.S. camp will hope he is not facing a similar dilemma ahead of Monday night.
(Top photo: Eliecer Aizprua Banfield/Jam Media/Getty Images)
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