U.S. Goalie Tim Howard Cleared To Play Against Slovenia, Suffered No Serious Injury

That sound you hear is an enormous sigh of relief from American soccer fans: standout U.S. goalie Tim Howard has been cleared to play the team’s second match of group play against Slovenia on Friday, and has not suffered any serious injuries, according to SI’s Grant Wahl.

After putting on a masterful display on Saturday during their 1-1 draw with the favored Brits, Howard’s status going forward was in doubt, with rumors that he may have broken some ribs during the match after getting cleated on a diving save in the first half. Despite these fears, U.S. coach Bob Bradley still expected Howard to play, given how well he performed after getting injured against England. But still, the specter of potentially losing one of their key players for the rest of group play and having to turn to either backup Marcus Hahnemann or Brad Guzan was a huge concern for the U.S., especially after putting themselves in great position to advance after salvaging a point against England. Those worries were ill-founded, however, as Howard’s injury is not as serious as originally feared, leaving no doubt that he will be fit to play from this point on.

The U.S. Men’s National team plays their next match Friday against Slovenia at 10 AM ET, before closing out group play the following Wednesday at 10 AM ET versus Algeria.