Americans Abroad: Gio Reyna injury update, James Sands makes Europa League debut
American figures stood at the forefront of European success this week as Josh Sargent recorded his first Premier League assist and Brenden Aaronson became just the fourth USMNT player to assist in a Champions League match.
On the other end, Gio Reyna suffered a fresh injury during his first start for Borussia Dortmund in over five months.
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USMNT midfielder Reyna was forced off the field in the 28th minute of Borussia Dortmund’s match against Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday, limping into the locker room looking visibly upset.
Reyna was making his first start for the Bundesliga side since August after picking up a hamstring injury while playing with the USMNT during an international window on September 3.
This time, Borussia Dortmund confirmed he “did not suffer a serious thigh injury.”
After the match, head coach Marco Rose rallied around Reyna to show support.
„Gio is really upset, you can see it in the pictures,“ he said, per ESPN. „He’s just back from injury and was really in good shape. I was, we were all happy that he was back. It was important for us to have him on the field with the quality he has.
“We’ll get the boy back and we’ll give him every support because we need him because he’s an outstanding athlete, a great person.“
While ruled not serious, there is no timeframe on his return.
Aaronson led Red Bull Salzburg to tie with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich during a midweek Champions League clash.
The USMNT player set up the first goal of the game by centring a pass to Chukwubuike Adamu, who put it past Sven Ulreich.
It was Aaronson’s first assist in the Champions League. He is just the fourth U.S. international to provide the help in the competition’s knockout round, joining Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna and Kenny Saief.
Sands made his Europa League debut after coming off the bench in the 66th minute to feature for Rangers as they faced Borussia Dortmund.
The American helped his side to a shocking 4-2 victory over the Bundesliga favorites. He managed 24 minutes on the field, finding his rhythm with the European side.
Sargent made his first Premier League assist over the weekend since his arrival at Norwich last summer. He inspired the team’s only goal at Anfield, centring a pass to Milot Rashica for the play.
The USMNT player held off defenders before finding Rashica in the 48th minute, who beat Alisson to the net.
Sergino Dest came off the bench to play nine minutes for Barcelona in their 1-1 draw with Napoli on Thursday.
Christian Pulisic started for Chelsea in their 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, playing all 90 minutes of the match.
Tyler Adams came off the bench to register an assist in RB Leipzig’s 6-1 win over Hertha Berlin on Sunday.