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Landon Donovan out of U.S. Men's National Team qualifiers for World Cup

Sporting KC's Graham Zusi likely to start in place of Landon Donovan in World Cup qualifiers

By Kevin Jeffers
Ric Tapia - Getty Images

Landon Donovan will miss the U.S. National Team's upcoming World Cup qualifiying matches with an injured left knee, it was reported Tuesday. The first of those matches is Friday on the road against Antigua and Barbuda, and the second is set for Oct. 16 in Kansas City against Guatemala.

Sporting KC's Graham Zusi is expected to get the start on the wide right side of the midfield for Donovan, giving him a chance to play in front of his home crowd when the U.S. plays Guatemala.

Donovan suffered the injury on Saturday while playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy, but U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann selected Donovan to the 24-man U.S. roster with hopes he'd recover in time:

"Landon was very optimistic over the weekend when his knee was feeling much better, but now he needs time to recover," Klinsmann said.

Donovan was expected to return to Los Angeles for further evaluation.

The U.S. has 7 points through its first four qualifying matches.