Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna are IN USA squad for Nations League games as USMNT captain nears return from hamstring surgery, while the Forest attacker struggles for game time in Premier League

Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna have both been included in the latest USA squad for the CONCACAF Nations League despite a severe lack of playing time at the club level. 

Adams, who underwent hamstring surgery in October, has made just one appearance for Bournemouth (in the Carabao Cup) after joining from Leeds over the summer.

A hamstring issue also cost him the final 14 games of Leeds’ 2022-23 season, and the midfielder has now gone over a year without a Premier League appearance.

He was however named to Bournemouth’s bench last week against Sheffield United, and also on Wednesday vs. Luton Town, with USA coach Gregg Berhalter sharing that he spoke to Cherries manager Andoni Iraola about the player this week. 

‘He couldn’t say enough good things about [Adams],’ Berhalter told media Wednesday. ‘He thinks that he’s actually ready to play minutes today in the Premier League. So we’ll see how that ends up, you know, potentially 30 minutes, 15 minutes, who knows?’

Gio Reyna, meanwhile, has hardly played for Nottingham Forest since joining on loan

Reyna, meanwhile, has hardly played since joining Nottingham Forest on loan in January.

The 21-year-old, who had been struggling for form and fitness earlier this season with Borussia Dortmund, has been on the field for just 39 minutes as Forest tries to stave off relegation (Forest were three points above the relegation zone at the time of publishing).

Still, Berhalter cited Reyna’s strong play with the national team over the last year and expressed confidence that he’ll come good with Forest.  

‘It’s always concerning when guys aren’t getting regular minutes. But what we know about adapting to different leagues is sometimes it takes a while,’ Berhalter began.

‘And in Gio’s case, you know, he’s coming from the Bundesliga to a very high tempo, Premier League and his team in particular is very robust, very high energy in the counter attack. And, you know, we’re not surprised that it’s taking him little bit, but we believe that, you know, he’ll be able to get it done in the end.

Adams and Reyna celebrate after beating Mexico in the 2021 Nations League Final

Both Adams and Reyna are considered significant pieces of the USA set up moving forward.

Adams wore the captain’s armband during the Qatar World Cup, while Reyna was limited to sub appearances amid a fallout with manager Gregg Berhalter but starred in the Nations League last summer. 

Another important piece of the World Cup squad, Brenden Aaronson, was not included in the squad. 

The USA will face Jamaica in the Nations League semifinals on March 21.

If the Americans win, they’ll face the either Mexico or Panama on March 24 in the final.