Clint Dempsey to miss USMNT September World Cup qualifiers with irregular heartbeat

The Seattle Sounders made a startling announcement on Friday that Clint Dempsey is undergoing medical evaluation for an irregular heartbeat.

An irregular heartbeat, otherwise known as Arrhythmia, is a condition in which the heart loses it’s regular rhythm.

While the prognosis is not known, the Sounders think it’s severe enough to rule him out for Sunday’s highly important rivalry match against the Portland Timbers.

This brings into question his availability for the upcoming CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers next week. The USMNT are set to travel to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for a match in a week’s time and then will play Trinidad and Tobago the Tuesday after that.

Heart problems are no joke, obviously. While we don’t know the severity yet as the Sounders haven’t release any specific information publicly, they (and likely U.S. Soccer) will want to err on the side of caution and make sure he’s 100 percent before returning to soccer activities.

While no announcement has been made and it’s purely speculative at this point, it’s highly doubtful Dempsey will be available for the upcoming USMNT qualifiers.

However, that’s not the most important part of this news. The most important issue is Clint’s health. We wish him a speedy recovery.

UPDATE: U.S. Soccer confirms Dempsey will miss the upcoming qualifiers.