A rash of injuries to the U.S. national team's defender pool threatened to wreak havoc on Bruce Arena's selections for the September World Cup qualifiers, but at least one key figure has recovered to help give the U.S. defense a boost.
Omar Gonzalez joins a veteran-laden 26-man squad called in by Arena for the upcoming qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras. His return from injury comes just in time to have him available to help deal with the injury absence of John Brooks.
There were no real surprises in the squad, with 23 of the 26 players Arena summoned having been called in for last June's qualifiers.