Shoulder Injury To Force Dempsey Out of Honduras Qualifier

SB Nation’s the Daily Soccer Fix reacts to the news that striker Clint Dempsey may miss the next World Cup qualifier against Honduras:

Is this possibly a good thing?

Anybody who has seen Dempsey’s last few performances in the U.S. shirt knows that something is askew with the Fulham man. From a distance, it appears he’s gotten a little too comfortable with his place on the national team.

The trick here is that Dempsey can still turn a match in an instant. His night at Rio Tinto a month ago against El Salvador said it all. He lolled about, not doing much on defense and absolutely stinking up the joint on offense for almost a half. Then, he turned the whole evening with a clinical finish near goal.

It left lots of room for debate about whether he warranted further lineup inclusion. Simply put: was the good outweighing the bad?

Maybe seeing someone else perform in his role will be the kick in the pants London’s most famous Texan needs. Because this much is sure: no matter what happens over the next week in a World Cup qualifying process that will march forth without him, the U.S. effort will be a lot better off with a fit and in-form Dempsey next summer in South Africa.