USA defender Robinson set to miss 2022 World Cup with Achilles injury

Atlanta United football club has announced that

suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his left leg during Saturday’s 4-1 win vs. Chicago Fire FC. He is scheduled to have surgery later today.

Robinson was one of the

's key defenders in World Cup qualifying round and is now set to miss

in Qatar.

The World cup will start on November 21 and finish on December 18. It is expected Robinson will be out of action for more than nine months. The 25 year old has played 21 times for the USA.

“We are devastated for Miles,”

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said in a statement on Monday.

“He had established himself as a top performer throughout last year and World Cup qualifying. We will be thinking of him and wishing him a successful recovery process.”

“Just heartbreaking,”

Atlanta teammate and fellow U.S. defender Brooks Lennon also said after Saturday’s win over Chicago.

“In the first half, it really shook us as a team. It took us 15 to 20 minutes to kind of regroup. I don’t know if you could tell when he went down, we were losing possession of the ball. I think we were all kind of stunned. We’re praying for him. We wish him a speedy recovery.”

The USA has been drawn into a World Cup group with England, Iran, and one of Scotland, Ukraine, or Wales.

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