Aron Johannsson out indefinitely with nerve irritation in hip

Aron Johannsson won't be playing any time soon. The forward has been diagnosed with a nerve irritation in his right hip and will keep him out for at least three weeks. There is no timetable for his return.

Johannsson hasn't played since September 22 because of the injury to his hip. The problem kept him from being selected to the United States team for the CONCACAF Cup and, this week, Werder Bremen sent him to Berlin to be looked at by a doctor. The diagnosis of a nerve irritation is a complicated one and doesn't have a hard and fast timeline for recovery.

Werder Bremen said that Johannsson "will be treated in a conservative manner" and ruled him out of their next two matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Hannover. How long he will be out depends on how his hip responds to treatment. He could be available again in three weeks or this could become a long-term problem.

Johannsson had two goals in his first six matches for Bremen until suffering his injury. With the forward unavailable, Jurgen Klinsmann called in Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Chris Wondolowski and Gyasi Zardes for the CONCACAF Cup, but Zardes has been used more on the wing than up top for the U.S. If Johannsson is out for an extended period, it will test an American forward corps that is thin to begin with.