Rubio Rubin not expected to return from injury until March

It's been a rough year for Rubio Rubin. The FC Utrecht striker and United States youth international was expected to have a breakout year in his second season in the Eredivisie, but his sophomore campaign was quickly derailed by a foot injury.

The 19-year-old forward suffered a stress fracture in his foot back in October. Despite the initial prognosis of a January return, the club now say that Rubin isn't expected back until the middle of March.

FC Utrecht rep updated me on #USMNT/ U-23 fwd Rubio Rubin - "expected to be back in training beginning of March." Hopes to play "mid-March"

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) February 11, 2016

This news all but rules him out of contention for a spot on the U-23 roster for the upcoming home-and-away playoff series against Colombia during the same month.

Rubin was one of the leaders of the USA U-20 team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 U-20 World Cup during this past summer. His tireless work rate and tremendous technical quality make him an exciting prospect. Hopefully once he's fully recovered from his injury he can get back to the promising track he was on before it sidelined him for this long spell.