Americans Abroad

Friedel strains thigh muscle in Rovers exhibition, will miss two weeks.

By Robert Wagman (in Washington, D.C.)
SoccerTimes

(Tuesday, July 27, 2004) -- Goalkeeper Brad Friedel suffered a strained thigh muscle in a Blackburn Rovers' exhibition match that will cause him to miss the remainder of the English Premier League club's preseason and places in jeopardy his availability for the United States August 18 visit to Jamaica to open the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

Rovers open their season August 14 by hosting West Bromwich Albion. "It's disappointing for Brad and the squad as preparations have been going well," Rovers manager Graeme Souness told his club's official website. "He will continue to have the best treatment, though, and I am hoping he will be fit to face West Brom in a couple of weeks."

Friedel strained a muscle in his right thigh in the 23rd minute of Rovers' 1-0 victory over Bohemians of the Czech Republic in a match played in Germany. He was replaced by Finnish international Peter Enckelman who will continue in net until the American can return.

Friedel will miss friendlies at Stockport and Preston North End this week and a special home exhibition against Portugal's Sporting Lisbon at Ewood Park, as well as a trip to Ireland to face Bray Wanderers August 7 in the McEvoy Cup.

"I think it's his kicking muscle at the top of his leg, which he's damaged before, so I don't think he'll play in the rest of our preseason matches," Souness later told reporters.

Friedel has had a lock on the Rovers starting job the last two seasons. Since joining the club in March 2000, Friedel has played in 137 Premier League games, 13 FA Cup matches, 10 League Cup outings and six UEFA Cup meetings.

Sanneh has been shuttling between Germany and his home in Minnesota. "I have been in discussions with the MLS about coming back and stated that I wanted to stay in the Midwest," he wrote to SoccerTimes in an e-mail. "Now, the addition of D.C. (United) is very intriguing, but I have not really looked at their financial capabilities or their player needs. I am hoping to get something done with Columbus. If not, I will be overseas again."

Russell was serving a one-match suspension. Barrett continues to nurse a minor ankle injury that has kept him out of training although he is running and could return as early as next week.

Fulham, with the probable signing of Tomazs Radzinski from Everton, is loading up on strikers and there continues to be talk that McBride could be headed for Blackburn.

U.S. keeper Kasey Keller played well for Tottenham Hotspur in a 2-1 exhibition loss to Sheffield United. Keller made a number of good saves, but could do little on either goal.

Spurs have a number of key injuries, especially in defense, and the team has been shaky in the preseason.

Reading of the English League Championship, formerly the First Division, welcomed American midfielder Bobby Convey of Major League Soccer's D.C. United. "We became aware of Bobby a long time ago through what he'd done with the American national team at the under-20 level, and have been pursuing it seriously since Christmas," Reading director of football Nick Hammond told his club's web site. "It was a long and difficult process, but we managed to get him in the end. MLS is a complex organization to deal with -- it's a long process, they have a board of directors, a commissioner and a deputy commissioner, and everything has to be in line to get to an end point."

Convey's new teammate, American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann says he expects that Convey will be able to step right into the lineup. "He's a really good player and will be a great addition to the team," Hahnemann said on the Reading web site. "When I played with him last summer, he was really comfortable on the ball. We played small-sided games and he looked really, really good. I think he will really help us out. He will beat people and whip balls in. He's a really solid player. Since Sal (John Salako) left, there's a hole on that left side we need to fill. He can play left midfield and left back, and it will be nice to have another left footer for the team."

Last week, Reading suffered a 1-0 loss to Brentford in its first home preseason match. Hahnemann was solid in goal, but the team showed little offense.

In Belgium, Oguchi Onyewu has moved right into the starting lineup for Standard Liege. He went the distance in Standard's 2-1 loss to French side Lens and from press reports played very well.

Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman.