The latest Folarin Balogun injury update has confirmed the USMNT will miss the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Maurico Pochettino’s roster has taken a further hit before the tournament gets underway on June 15. The Argentine is already without star names Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna.
DeJuan Jones and Sean Zawadzki also dropped out injured. In the trio’s place, Waker Zimmerman, Nathan Harriel, and Paxten Aaronson have all been called up.
The Yanks will face European nations Turkey and Switzerland in friendly fixtures before they begin their Gold Cup campiagn. The USMNT will face Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti in the group stages.
Folarin Balogun Injury Update
Folarin Balogun had to withdraw from the USMNT roster after suffering an ankle injury. The setback means the Monaco forward is still to feature under head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Balogun had a shoulder injury when Pochettino took charge so the Argentine will have to wait once again to see the 23-year-old strut his stuff on the field.
The former Arsenal man is widely considered as one of the top forwards in the US. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just 12 months away, Pochettino will want to see Balogun in action before he assesses other options.
Balogun has missed approximately 187 days of the 2024-25 campaign with shoulder issues. Although his latest setback is with his ankle, the forward will want to rid his injury problems going into the new season.
How Many Goals Has Folarin Balogun Scored For The USMNT?
To date, Folarin Balogun has scored five goals for the USMNT in 17 appearances. His maiden strike came in the 2-0 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final victory over Canada.
In September 2023, Balogun scored the opener in a 4-0 friendly win against Oman before netting the following month against Ghana. That too was an international friendly fixture.
His fourth international USMNT goal came against Bolivia in the 2024 Copa America. A game in which the Yanks won 2-0. Balogun’s fifth and most recent goal also came in the same tournament against Panama in a 2-1 loss.
2024-25 Folarin Balogun Stats
Despite an injury-ravaged campaign, the 2024-25 stats for Folarin Balogun stats are still reasonably impressive. The 23-year-old only managed 13 appearances for Monaco in Ligue 1.
The forward found the back of the net on four occasions and didn’t register an assist to his name. However, Balogun did manage to assist in the Champions League from his trio of outings.
In 2022-23, Balogun enjoyed his most fruitful season. Whilst on loan at Reims from Arsenal, the 23-year-old scored 21 Ligue 1 goals from 37 appearances. Such form is what Mauricio Pochettino hopes he can return to.
