Jozy Altidore ‘Available’ to Play Against Belgium
Jozy Altidore is available to play for the United States in Tuesday's World Cup second-round game against Belgium, but it does not appear the forward is ready to return to the starting lineup.
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said during a news conference Monday that "it's now difficult to say how many minutes."
Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans' opener against Ghana on June 16 and didn't appear in their next two games. He has been working out on his own.
Aron Johannsson replaced Altidore for the remainder of the game against Ghana, and Klinsmann switched from a 4-4-2 formation to a 4-5-1 against Portugal and Germany.
The U.S. Men's National Team tweeted that Altidore is 'ready' and 'available' to suit up against Belgium on Tuesday.
Klinsmann also knows just Altidore's presence alone will put a different feel around the team tomorrow.
"Just having him with us is huge," Klinsmann said.
US plays Belgium on Tuesday with coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. on 97.3 ESPN FM.