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Jozy Altidore has yet to play a match this season for his club team Toronto FC, but that won't stop him from joining his national team next week. Despite being sidelined while recovering from yet another hamstring injury for the better part of the last month, Jozy Altidore will join up with the United States as they head to Guatemala for the first of two World Cup qualifiers according to the Washington Post's Steven Goff.
Recovering from hamstring injury, Jozy Altidore will join #usmnt training camp ahead of World Cup qualifiers vs. Guatemala
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) March 17, 2016
It remains to be seen just how match fit Jozy will be. There haven't been many reports about how far along in his recovery he is, just only that he hasn't dressed for Toronto's first two MLS matches so far this season. This news could indicate that he's ready to get back in action this weekend when TFC face-off against Sporting KC.
It's not abnormal to see Toronto and the USMNT staff working together to ensure the players are getting the appropriate call-ups. It was last year that U.S. Soccer allowed Michael Bradley to miss a couple of friendlies in September to participate in an important MLS match.
If Jozy can last at least 60 good minutes it's likely we'll see him getting the starting nod. If not then he'll probably be asked to come off the bench as a super-sub. It's just too early to know for sure. Whatever the case may be, Jurgen Klinsmann will be breathing a sigh of relief to know that his top out-and-out striker is available for selection.
The full roster for the upcoming USA/Guatemala qualifiers will be announced later this weekend. U.S. Soccer has already announced that rosters will be flexible, which means that Klinsmann and Herzog can make changes to each squad after the first set of matches on March 25th.