An eighth MLS player has been added to the US roster for the upcoming Under-20 World Cup, with U.S. Soccer announcing on Monday that Orlando City SC defender Conor Donovan will replace injured midfielder Russell Canouse for the tournament.
Canouse suffered a right ankle injury while the team was training in Australia and will require additional time to recover. Donovan, the 22nd-overall pick in the January MLS SuperDraft, was named as an alternate and has been with the Tab Ramos’ side since they began their pre-World Cup camp on May 11 in Southern California.
Canouse, who plays for TSG Hoffenheim in Germany, captained the US in their final four matches at the 2015 U-20 CONCACAF Championship in Jamaica. The defensive midfielder helped the team record four straight shutouts en route to earning a berth to the World Cup in New Zealand.
Donovan was also on the US roster at the U-20 championship, playing in two matches for the U-20s in Jamaica. Since qualifying, Donovan has appeared in friendlies against England, Qatar and Croatia. The Generation adidas player has yet to make his first-team debut for Orlando City.
“Today was a very tough decision to make,” Ramos said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “Obviously Russel led our team to qualification in the last four matches in Jamaica, so I think that we lose a player that’s very important on the field, but also off the field. So it’s a big loss for us.
“At the same time, we were prepared by having Conor be here the whole time. Conor has been working hard with us, he’s adapted and he has been with the team for a while. So we were ready with a replacement and we’re excited to have Conor on board, who also brings a lot on the field and off the field.”
Donovan is the eighth MLS player to be named to Ramos’ 21-man squad, joining FC Dallas’ Kellyn Acosta, Real Salt Lake’s Jordan Allen, Toronto FC’s Marco Delgado, LA Galaxy’s Bradford Jamieson IV, New York Red Bulls’ Matt Miazga, Sporting Kansas City’s Erik Palmer-Brown and San Jose Earthquakes’ Tommy Thompson.
The US will begin their U-20 World Cup late on Friday night, when they take on Myanmar at 12 am ET in Group A action in Whangarei, New Zealand. The US will face hosts New Zealand on June 2 before finishing the group stage against Ukraine on June 5. All of the US’s group matches will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 and NBC Universo.
