Atlanta point guard Trae Young played about 20 minutes in his return to action Thursday in the Hawks’ 133-126 loss against the Charlotte Hornets.
It was Young’s first game since he went down with a right MCL sprain on Oct. 29. He scored eight points on 3-of-8 shooting and 10 assists.
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Young was a full participant in practice Wednesday, his second practice back with the Hawks after scrimmaging with their G League affiliate earlier this week.
“It’s my knee, something that had to take a little more time than some other injuries … I feel good,” Young said Tuesday, via ESPN. “[My conditioning is] going to get better as you play. They wouldn’t even allow me to come back or even be close to coming back if my conditioning wasn’t right or close to it.”
Young suffered an MCL sprain in his right knee during the team’s win against the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 29, and he hasn’t played since. That was just the team’s fifth game of the year. The Hawks went 13-9 without him over the 22 games that he missed.
Young averaged 24.2 points and a career-high 11.6 assists per game, which led the league, last season while earning his fourth All-Star nod. The 27-year-old is in the fourth year of a five-year, $215 deal with the Hawks this fall. He was eligible for a four-year extension, but a deal wasn’t done in time before training camp.
Nobody would’ve batted an eye if the New York Knicks laid an egg Thursday night.
Just two nights after taking down the San Antonio Spurs in Las Vegas to win the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, the Knicks traveled to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers. And while this Pacers team has been reshaped by injuries and defections into a 6-20 also-ran that looks dramatically different than the crew that brought the Knicks’ season to an ignominious end in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, it’s also one that had been off since Sunday. That gave Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Co. a massive rest advantage against a New York squad that would be missing five rotation players: centers Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee soreness) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle injury management), forward Josh Hart (abdominal strain) and reserve guards Deuce McBride (left ankle sprain) and Landry Shamet (right shoulder sprain).
The disparity in freshness showed up quickly, with Indiana needing less than eight minutes to race out to a 16-point lead against a Knicks starting five featuring second-year 7-footer Ariel Hukporti and rookie second-round draft pick Mohamed Diawara. New York would claw its way back, though, with reserve guards Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson scoring to help chip away at the lead, Mikal Bridges scoring 11 of his 22 points in the third quarter, and a pair of clutch 3-pointers by OG Anunoby helping level the score at 111-111 late.
It was a spirited comeback — enough, even if the Knicks ultimately fell short, to consider it a moral victory for a team not only running on fumes on the road, but also staring down an overnight flight home to New York for a Friday meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers on a back-to-back.
“Our guys had plenty of opportunities to say, ‘We gave it the good ol’ college try , and we’ll wrap it up and go figure it out tomorrow,’” Knicks head coach Mike Brown told reporters after the game. “Especially being in Vegas as long as we were, going through what we went through out there … nobody would have been mad at them on a couple of different occasions if they just threw the towel in.
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“That’s not our group.”
That’s because, in part, that’s not their leader.
It had been a rough fourth quarter for Jalen Brunson: four misses in five tries, some ugly forays into iso-ball late, and a costly turnover dribbling the ball off his own foot with just over a minute to go. But after a pair of Siakam free throws put Indiana up by two with 11.4 seconds to go — after taking a hard foul from longtime quandary Nembhard on the preceding play — Brunson went right to work, driving hard to his right, shaking the dogged Nembhard with a stepback and splashing a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a one-point lead with 4.4 seconds remaining.
Jalen Brunson takes the game-winning 3-point shot over Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
(Dylan Buell via Getty Images)
“Our MVP — the league’s MVP, Jalen Brunson,” Brown said. “We called a timeout, we took another timeout, drew up a different play, and as Jalen’s walking out on the floor, Jalen turns to me, he says, ‘I’m getting this win. I’m going for it.’ I said, ‘You do you. That’s who you are. You do you.’ And he went out, and he came through. That’s what real MVPs do, and I’m glad I’m a part of his team.”
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The Pacers took a timeout and advanced the ball, still having a chance to send the exhausted Knicks home unhappy. But Siakam slipped on his way to collect center Jay Huff’s inbounds pass, giving his old Raptors teammate Anunoby a chance to pounce for a steal …
… and run out the clock to finish off a 114-113 win. The Knicks have now won six straight and nine of 10 to improve to 19-7 — 1.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons, who lost in overtime in Dallas on Thursday, for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
While Brunson finished with 25 points on 10-for-23 shooting to go with 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes in the win, the All-NBA point guard sounded a note of frustration with his performance in his postgame interview.
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“Man, I was garbage to start the game, and then my stint in the second half was garbage, as well,” Brunson said. “I want to thank the Lord for Tyler Kolek — for playing the way he’s playing, and saving me.”
The second-year guard out of Marquette followed up his excellent outing in the NBA Cup final with the best game-that-actually-counts-in-the-standings of his career thus far, scoring 16 points, dishing 11 assists and grabbing 6 rebounds in 26 minutes, during which New York outscored the Pacers by 13 points:
Kolek played a grand total of one minute and 52 seconds in New York’s conference finals loss to the Pacers. Now, he’s making a case to stick in Brown’s rotation, helping a short-handed squad remain on a roll, and giving New York’s stars the kind of support they need to stay connected after a rough start so that the captain can close the door when it counts.
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“I knew that I was going to have another opportunity, after the missed shot and the turnover and the missed shot before the turnover,” Brunson said. “I’m just happy the ball went in and we came away with the win.”
“It was just a lack of awareness. Just frustration.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay was also unaware of the tweet when speaking with reporters, declining to directly address the tweet but defending Nacua as “a great kid that’s continuing to learn about the platform he has.”
“The refs are the worst,” Nacua said. “… Some of the rules aren’t … These guys want to be … these guys are lawyers. They want to be on TV too. You don’t think he’s texting his friends in the group chat like, ‘Yo, you guys just saw me on “Sunday Night Football.” That wasn’t P.I., but I called it.’”
This tweet won’t help matters.
Overall, here’s how the past couple weeks have played out for Nacua:
It’s not what you would call an ideal run from a player who will likely be seeking a long-term and high-priced contract extension from the Rams this offseason. However, his contributions Thursday also demonstrated how much the franchise needs him on the field.
Week 16 is upon us as is our fantasy preview show for the weekend slate. Justin Boone joins Matt Harmon to breakdown every fantasy angle of Week 16. The two tackle Boone’s 6-pack of questions and Harmons’ 3 games of the week. The two then end the show with our wildly entertaining ‘hurry up offense’ segment.
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(1:00) Matt’s Solo TNF Recap: Seahawks 38, Rams 37
(31:30) Boone’s 6 Pack of Questions
(1:33:30) No One’s Games of the Week: NYJ @ NO, MIN @ NYG, KC @TEN
(1:53:00) Hurry Up Offense
Week 16 is upon us as is our fantasy preview show for the weekend slate. Justin Boone joins Matt Harmon to breakdown every fantasy angle of Week 16. The two tackle Boone’s 6-pack of questions and Harmons’ 3 games of the week. The two then end the show with our wildly entertaining ‘hurry up offense’ segment.
Thursday’s clash between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks might go down as the NFL’s game of the year, and the moment where we truly lost the plot came in the fourth quarter.
Down 30-22 with seven minutes remaining in the game that could decide the top seed in the NFC, the Seahawks scored a quick touchdown with a 31-yard Rashid Shaheed run and a 26-yard pass to AJ Barner. Their 2-point attempt then appeared to fail with a screen pass batted down at the line of scrimmage.
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The play appeared to be settled and both teams started preparing for the Seahawks’ kickoff, but then the officials announced they were taking a closer look at the play. And then the replay showed Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold had thrown the ball backward, making it a lateral play and keeping the ball live.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet had casually picked up the ball in the end zone. And that ended up being a game-saving play for Seattle, as it cashed the 2-point conversion and tied the game 30-30.
You can see more replays here:
Neither team scored in regulation after that and the game go on to overtime, where the Seahawks won 38-37 on another 2-point conversion.
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The replay decision appeared to be the correct one, which was little consolation for the Rams, who could now finish 13-4 and not host a playoff game with the Seahawks in control of the NFC West.
“I’ve never quite seen anything like what happened on the 2-point conversion, where you’re lined up to kick off, then they say it’s a fumble to clear an obvious recovery, now you tack it on, you make it a 30-30 game. Very interesting. Didn’t get a clear explanation of everything that went on just because of some of the timing of it. They were trying to be able to do that, but that’s the thing that I’ve said. I’ve never seen anything or never been a part of anything like that, and I’ve grown up around this game.
“I’m not making excuses. We don’t do that. I don’t believe in that. It doesn’t move us forward, but we do want clarity and an understanding of the things that we can do to minimize that when we rejected the 2-point conversion.”
“I didn’t know what was going on until I looked at the review and then Zach picked the ball up and s***, they gave us 2 points. We’ll take them.”
The play was ultimately one part of a full collapse for the Rams, who led 30-14 at one point in the fourth quarter. They outgained the Seahawks 581-415 and committed zero turnovers to Seattle’s three, but sometimes football simply comes down to timing. And picking up the ball in front of you.
When Sam Darnold threw his second interception Thursday night, there was no reason to believe the Seattle Seahawks could come back.
The Los Angeles Rams had clearly been the better team. Darnold was looking shaky again in a big game. Seattle has been in the NFL since 1976 and never had a comeback like the one it needed Thursday night, against a team that had a strong claim as the best in the NFL. Amazon Prime Video pointed out that the Seahawks were 0-172 all time when trailing by 15 or more points in the fourth quarter.
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In the biggest game of the NFL season to date, the Seahawks made it 1-172, thanks in part to a gutsy decision to go for the 2-point conversion and the win in overtime.
In one of the wildest comebacks in franchise history, the Seahawks turned a 30-14 deficit with a little more than eight minutes left into a 38-37 overtime win that could completely reshape the NFL playoff picture.
A punt return for a touchdown helped get the Seahawks back in the game. A crazy 2-point conversion, in which a replay review ruled that what looked like an incomplete pass was actually a fumble recovered by Seattle in the end zone, tied it. A missed field goal by the Rams with a little more than two minutes left kept the Seahawks alive, allowing the game to go to overtime.
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Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua, who each had monster games, hooked up for a 41-yard touchdown in overtime to give the Rams the lead. But the Seahawks kept coming. The Seahawks drove downfield after that, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba scored a touchdown. Seattle decided to go for the 2-point conversion and the win. Darnold threw to Eric Saubert, who hadn’t had a catch in the game, and the Seahawks had a wild walk-off victory in the NFL’s game of the year. That won’t be topped.
The Rams were on the verge many times of taking complete control of the NFC West and the NFC’s No. 1 seed. They might not even know how exactly the Seahawks came back to beat them.
It seemed like an impossible task for the Seahawks, until they pulled it off.
Rams dominate after slow start
The Seahawks got off to a great start. Then the Rams dominated them for most of the rest of the game.
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Seattle got a fourth-and-1 stop on the Rams’ first drive of the game, then a 46-yard screen pass to Kenneth Walker III set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet. It was a nearly perfect start.
But the Rams were ready. Their offense was balanced and dominated whether Stafford was throwing it or one of their backs was running it. Stafford was excellent and Nacua had a phenomenal night with several big plays. Their defense contained Darnold, who rarely even tried to throw downfield. The Rams were clearly the best team for most of the game.
In the third quarter, Darnold made the mistake everyone seemed to be waiting for. The Rams disguised a zone coverage, showing man coverage before the snap, and then Darnold threw it right to Rams cornerback Josh Wallace. He returned it 56 yards to the 1-yard line, and Blake Corum scored on the next play.
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The Rams dominated Darnold in the playoffs last season when he was with the Minnesota Vikings, picked him off four times in the first meeting with the Seahawks this season, and forced him into a big mistake Thursday night. He made another in the fourth quarter with the Rams leading 30-14, as defensive lineman Kobie Turner dropped into coverage near the goal line and Darnold threw it right to him under pressure.
It looked like the game was over at that moment. Hopefully you didn’t turn it off and go to bed, because it turned into one of the wildest games of this or any other NFL season.
Seahawks’ rally started on a punt. They later got the weirdest 2-point conversion you’ll ever see
The Seahawks’ comeback was stunning in its efficiency. In less than two minutes of game action, Seattle went from trailing by 16 points to tying the game.
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Rashid Shaheed had a 58-yard punt return touchdown with 8:03 to go in regulation and the Seahawks got the 2-point conversion to cut the Rams’ lead to 30-22. That gave Seattle some life.
After a quick Rams three-and-out, Darnold hit tight end A.J. Barner for a 26-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion got weird. It looked like a clear incompletion but then there was controversy. The replay showed Darnold threw it backward, and what looked like an incomplete pass was casually picked up in the end zone by Charbonnet.
Because that was actually a fumble on the lateral and a clear recovery, it was a successful conversion and the game was tied with 6:23 to go. It was one of the weirdest 2-point conversions in recent memory.
“I’ve never seen anything or never been a part of anything like that, and I’ve grown up around this game,” McVay said postgame.
The Rams stayed cool and got into field-goal range after that. But Harrison Mevis, who hadn’t missed a kick this season, pushed a go-ahead field-goal attempt wide right. The Seahawks had two possessions after that in regulation and the Rams had one, but neither team scored so the game went to overtime.
Los Angeles almost made the first mistake in the extra period. Stafford’s pass to Corum went off his hands and it seemed linebacker Ernest Jones IV intercepted it. But a replay showed the ball hit the ground. After that, Stafford hit Nacua on a crossing route and Nacua went into the end zone for the score. Nacua had 12 catches for 225 yards and Stafford had 457 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn’t enough.
The Seahawks had one more rally left in them. Darnold led the Seahawks inside the Rams’ 5-yard line. Darnold hit Smith-Njigba for a touchdown. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald had a decision and decided to go for the 2-point conversion and the win. Saubert got underneath and wasn’t covered, and Darnold hit him.
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The Seahawks now control the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Midway through the fourth quarter, that seemed unfathomable.
Live coverage is over58 updates
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Sam Darnold hits Eric Saubert and this game is OVER. The Seahawks, once trailing 30-14 in the fourth quarter, win one of the best games of the year.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Sam Darnold completes the drive with a six-yard TD to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. And now they line up for a 2-point attempt, with the Rams calling timeout.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Cooper Kupp inflicts toe-tap violence on his old team. A 26-yard catch at the sideline has Seattle in the red zone.
Jack Baer
A 17-yard pass and a pass interference penalty has the Seahawks already at the Rams’ 39 yard line.
Jack Baer
Matthew Stafford finds Puka Nacua for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Stafford’s up to 457 passing yards and 3 TD, Nacua’s up to 225 receiving yards and 2 TDs tonight, and the Seahawks need a touchdown.
Jack Baer
Ernest Jones IV dives for the deflected pass and comes up with a huge interception, but replay shows the ball hitting the ground. Still Rams ball, near midfield.
Jack Baer
A deep pass to Puka Nacua falls incomplete, but an illegal contact penalty extends the drive.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
Special teams have not been the Rams’ friend today. A return to the 48 gets called back to the 20 on a holding penalty.
Jack Baer
With both teams guaranteed a possession, Seattle will kick off to begin overtime.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
The Seahawks go nowhere with their limited time and this game will come down to overtime.
Jack Baer
Matthew Stafford overthrows Puka Nacua on 3rd-and-10 and the Seahawks are getting the ball back. Barring something incredible, overtime nears.
Jack Baer
Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori nearly flipped this game with an interception. Instead, he suffers an apparent injury and goes to the medical tent.
Rams at their own 49….
Jack Baer
It has been quite a few days for Puka Nacua. His latest highlight catch gives him 168 yards on the night and brings the Rams to midfield.
Jack Baer
A first-down sack kills the Seahawks’ drive early and it’s Rams ball again with less than two minutes left. One timeout left for both teams.
Jack Baer
After an 8-for-8 start to his Rams career, Harrison Mevis goes wide-right on a go-ahead field goal. It’s still tied 30-30, and Seahawks ball at their own 38 at the two-minute warning.
Michael King is going back to the San Diego Padres. How long he stays there is completely up to him.
The standout pitcher has agreed to a three-year, $75 million contract with the Padres in free agency, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The deal reportedly contains a $12 million signing bonus, a 2026 salary of $5 million, a $28 million player option for 2027 (with a $5 million buyout) and a $30 million player option for 2028.
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So this could effectively be a one-year, $22 million contract, a two-year, $45 million contract or a three-year, $75 million deal. The outcome depends on whether King performs well enough to warrant another foray into free agency.
King was on track to sign a contract much bigger than this after the 2024 season, in which he posted a 2.95 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 173 2/3 innings. The Padres acquired him in the Juan Soto deal and converted him into a full-time starter, with the gambit paying off.
However, 2025 was less kind to King. He went down due to shoulder inflammation in May, then hit the injured list again with a knee injury after his first start back in August. Ultimately, he recorded only 73 1/3 innings in his contract year.
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MLB teams were likely wary of committing long-term money to a pitcher who turns 31 in May and has only one full season as a starting pitcher under his belt, even if it was a very good season.
There aren’t many good options for the Padres after that group. For a team trying to compete with the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, that’s a big problem. The King deal gives the Padres the kind of pitcher they sorely need, even if it might end up being for just one more year.
The College Football Playoff officially begins on Dec. 19 with a matchup between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners. The SEC rivals only just met a few weeks ago during the regular season; the Sooners picked up a 23-21 win against the Crimson Tide back on Nov. 15. While their late season four-game winning streak offers the team some hope, historically they’ve struggled in the playoffs. (The Sooners are 0-4 in College Football Playoff games, holding the dubious honor of being the only program in the country with multiple CFP appearances and no wins.)
You can watch coverage of this week’s Alabama vs. Oklahoma game starting at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 19.
Where to watch the Alabama vs. Oklahomagame without cable
You can tune in to the Alabama vs. Oklahoma game on ABC as part of ESPN on ABC. ABC is available on streaming platforms, including DirecTV and Sling, but for the most comprehensive college football coverage, you can also watch this game and hundreds more on the ESPN app with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.
College football playoff game/bowl schedule this week:
All time Eastern
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Friday, Dec. 19
11 a.m. | Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan | Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, S.C.) | ESPN 2:30 p.m. | Memphis vs. NC State | Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) | ESPN 8 p.m. | No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma | College Football Playoff First Round Game | ABC
Saturday, Dec. 20
12 p.m. | No. 10 Miami (Fla.) at No. 7 Texas A&M | College Football Playoff First Round Game | ABC 3:30 p.m. | No. 20 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss | College Football Playoff First Round Game | TNT 7:30 p.m. | No. 24 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon | College Football Playoff First Round Game | TNT
Monday, Dec. 22
2 p.m. | Utah State vs. Washington State | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Idaho) | ESPN
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Tuesday, Dec. 23
2 p.m. | Louisville vs. Toledo | Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.) | ESPN 5:30 p.m. | Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss. | New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, La.) | ESPN 9 p.m. | Ohio vs. UNLV | Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas) | ESPN
Wednesday, Dec. 24
8 p.m. | Cal vs. Hawai‘i | Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu, Hawai’i) | ESPN
Friday, Dec. 26
1 p.m. | Northwestern vs. Central Michigan | GameAbove Sports Bowl (Detroit, Mich.) | ESPN 4:30 p.m. | New Mexico vs. Minnesota | Rate Bowl (Phoenix, Ariz.) | ESPN 8 p.m. | UTSA vs. FIU | First Responder Bowl (Dallas, Texas) | ESPN
How to watch college football games in 2025
NCAA football games will air across ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and the college conference networks. If you don’t have cable, it can be challenging to stay up-to-date with your favorite team. Here’s what we recommend to stream NCAA football in 2025.
Hello Yahoo! I’m Derek Carty of EV Analytics and the creator of THE BLITZ projection system, which if you have Yahoo+, you’ll notice is available this year to help you manage your teams. Here, I’ll be digging into three players projected to play above their usual level, and three players projected to play below their usual level.
With Bam Knight hitting injured reserve, Carter figures to be the lead back for Arizona down the stretch. Head coach Jonathan Gannon basically confirmed this when asked about his comfort level with Carter as the lead, replying, “Very comfortable. I thought Mike played extremely well in Houston.” (h/t Coachspeak Index Discord)
Emari Demercado will eat into that workload a bit, but Carter figures to get plenty of work on the ground and through the air to make him a very valuable late-season addition for anyone in need of RB help.
Week 16 vs. ROS: 18.78 PPR points vs. 14.8 PPR points per game
Cook has had some of his best games (and best projections) when Buffalo is leading by a lot. Against a weak Cleveland offense, the Bills are 10-point favorites, setting Cook up for a lot of rushing attempts.
They also have the fifth-highest team total on the slate at 26, creating plenty of potential touchdown equity for Cook. Throw in the sub-freezing temperatures and Cleveland’s fast-paced play, and we have quite a few factors pointing in Cook’s direction this week.
Week 16 vs. YTD: 7.96 PPR points vs. 1.26 PPR points per game
Tipton is a player whom head coach Kellen Moore and his coaching staff have been talking up since the preseason. He hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he’s got yet, but with Devaughn Vele out this week, Tipton figures to be the No. 2 or 3 option in this offense. Granted, it’s the Saints, but this is still a player that coaching thinks is talented who should be out there nearly every play with limited target competition, playing at home in the dome. More of a deep-league consideration, but a guy who could have a sneaky-good week.
Lawrence has been on a heater of late, and head coach Liam Coen has talked repeatedly about what a high level he’s playing at and all the things he’s doing well. That said, this week sets up as a potential let-down spot for T-Law as he squares off against the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos have an elite defense that also happens to run man coverage shells at the highest rate in the league. This is notable for Lawrence because he has one of the most pronounced man/zone splits of any quarterback, favoring zone defenses.
With Devin Neal officially ruled out for this week, those desperate for running back value may be tempted to dip into the New Orleans backfield, but that seems ill-advised. Estimé is the bigger name and the guy people may gravitate towards, but this looks much more like an ugly split-backfield (for a bad offense, no less) than anything else. After Neal went down with injury last week, Estimé took more of the targets while Hull took more of the carries. I far prefer Michael Carter (or even a guy like Kenneth Gainwell) to either of these guys for anyone in need of a running back this week.
When J.K. Dobbins went down with injury midway through the season, Hampton was primed to be one of the top fantasy options at running back until he himself succumbed to injury. He’s finally healthy again, but in his absence, Kimani Vidal established himself as a legitimate backfield option, with head coach Jim Harbaugh on multiple occasions referring to him as a “No. 1” running back in the league.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman alluded to a “1-2 punch” when Hampton returned, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen. Hampton has taken just 43% and 54% of the carries in the two weeks he’s been back, and his routes have been more than cut in half from where they were earlier in the season. More recently, Roman has said that the team will play the “hot hand” and that both guys are hot right now, making this a very murky situation and Hampton a much less usable asset than many hoped he’d be.
U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams’ knee injury will sideline him for two-to-three months, curtailing his Bournemouth season and jeopardizing his availability for the last international window before the World Cup squad is selected.
Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola announced Friday that Adams tore an MCL during a challenge in the early moments of the 4-4 draw against Manchester United on Monday. At the time of the injury, the Premier League club suspected an MCL injury but didn’t know the severity.
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“He will definitely be out for some time,” Iraola said. “From our previous experience with MCL injuries, it is normally around two or three months. It’s a big blow because he is an important player for us. Straight away, when you see the mechanism of the injury and the action itself, we felt it could be something serious.”
Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams suffered an MCL injury against Manchester United. (Photo by Peter Powell / AFP via Getty Images)
(PETER POWELL via Getty Images)
Beset with injuries the past three years, Adams has rebounded to start 15 of Bournemouth’s 16 league matches this season. His only absence came because of a yellow card suspension this month. He has scored twice and added one assist.
“Tyler is very valuable for us and very unique in what he does,” Iraola said. “We do have options [in defensive midfield], but it’s true that Tyler is difficult to replace.”
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The 2022 U.S. World Cup captain has not played for the national team since the September friendlies against South Korea and Japan. He missed the October window to remain in England with his pregnant wife and withdrew from last month’s window because of a concussion suffered in the last Bournemouth match before he was scheduled to report to U.S. camp.
This knee injury could force Adams to miss the friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in late March in Atlanta — the final camp before Mauricio Pochettino names his World Cup squad in late May.
Such an absence certainly would not disqualify him from the World Cup. Even if he’s out until late March, he would have more than six weeks to reclaim his place in Bournemouth’s lineup. If healthy and in form, he would seem almost certain to be part of Pochettino’s 26-man World Cup roster.
In Adams’ absence this fall, Pochettino’s partnerships in defensive midfield featured Tanner Tessmann, Aidan Morris, Cristian Roldan, James Sands and Sebastian Berhalter.
