USMNT’s Sergiño Dest Returns From Injury for Barcelona’s Europa League Quarterfinal

Barcelona announced that it will have U.S. men’s national team right back Sergiño Dest back from injury for the club’s Europa League quarterfinal second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt. 

In the round-of-16 second leg against Galatasaray, the fullback suffered a hamstring injury just hours before the U.S. roster for the last set of World Cup qualifiers was set to be announced. While Dest missed all three of the USMNT’s March qualifiers, he only missed four games for Barcelona—including a dominant 4–0 Clásico win over Real Madrid on March 20. 

On Thursday, Barcelona will host Frankfurt after a 1–1 draw in an entertaining first leg that saw the German side take the lead right after halftime and still hold on for the draw despite a 78th-minute red card. 

Dest’s return from injury comes while Barcelona finds itself in excellent form. The club has lost only twice in 2022 (in the Supercopa and Copa del Rey) and is currently on a 15-match unbeaten run. 

His return also comes as a bright spot in an injury-filled month for the U.S. men’s national team. 

Over the weekend, Gio Reyna was ruled out for the remainder of the Bundesliga season after suffering a recurrence of his lingering hamstring injury. Yunus Musah asked to leave Valencia’s weekend draw with Rayo Vallecano with a thigh problem but has since said he hopes to be available this weekend. Meanwhile, Juventus adjusted the timeline on Weston McKennie’s foot injury, saying the midfielder could return next month after previously being ruled out for the year.

Next up for the USMNT are four matches in June, including a pair in the Concacaf Nations League against Grenada at home at a to-be-determined site and at El Salvador.