United States men’s national team captain and AFC Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams underwent back surgery after their Copa América loss, manager Andoni Iraola revealed on Friday.
The injury will keep Adams out at least for the start of the Premier League season, though Iraola didn’t get into specifics.
“He finished the season with the injury in his back,” Iraola said, via ESPN. “He wanted to play Copa América because it was very important for him, but he had restrictions and was still in pain, so two days after they were knocked out, he had surgery.”
Adams played a total of 180 minutes with the USMNT in the Copa América this summer, half of which was in their 1-0 loss to Uruguay that eliminated them from the event ahead of the knockout stage.
Adams said that he first injured his back near the end of last season with Bournemouth, but that he felt it was getting better ahead of his stint with the USMNT. He was on a minutes restriction ahead of Copa América, too.
“I felt good coming into camp and ready to train, but they were like, ‘No, no, no, let’s just build it up properly.’ Because again, the most important thing for me is obviously to have a good Copa América, but to get into preseason ready to go,” he told ESPN in June. “I just want to get in a fit place where I can have an eight, nine, 10-week buildup into the start of the season and be in a really good place to become robust again.”
Adams landed in Bournemouth on a $25 million transfer from Leeds United last fall. He’s been injured several times since then, and he underwent surgery on his right hamstring in October. He made just four first-team appearances with the team last season and played 138 minutes.
Bournemouth finished in 12th in the Premier League standings last season, their second back in the top tier after a two-year run in the EFL Championship. The club is set to take on Wrexham in a friendly in California on Saturday. They will open the Premier League season on Aug. 17 against Nottingham Forest.
