Johnny Cardoso set for ankle surgery as World Cup hopes thrown into serious doubt

[p][b]"[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/johnny-cardoso/v5Xtt1xa/"]Cardoso[/a] sustained the injury ‌during training last Thursday, resulting in ‌a severe sprain that has affected the joint,"[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atl-madrid/jaarqpLQ/"]Atletico[/a] said in a statement.[/p][p]It ‌is the latest setback for ⁠Cardoso, whose ‌debut season at Atletico has been hampered ​by injuries. The 24-year-old also saw limited action during the ​March international window, playing only 45 minutes in a friendly against Belgium.[/p][p]US coach [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pochettino-mauricio/zuJM7XDg/"]Mauricio ​Pochettino[/a] is expected to name his 26-man World Cup squad later this month, with the co-hosts already facing ‌injury concerns.[/p][embed guid="59224c7e-fe09-4ff0-9349-80f5cacf10fe" url="https://x.com/atletienglish/status/2053881099680424270" social-type="twitter" /][p]Captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pulisic-christian/vTuaEfRq/"]Christian Pulisic[/a] recently missed matches for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ac-milan/8Sa8HInO/"]AC Milan[/a] with a muscular problem, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/marseille/SblU3Hee/"]Marseille[/a] winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/weah-timothy/4KWCbTaQ/"]Tim Weah[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lyon/2akflumR/"]Olympique Lyonnais[/a] midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tessmann-tanner/WjEvCrvs/"]Tanner Tessmann[/a] have also been sidelined.[/p][p]The US, who co-host the tournament alongside Mexico and Canada, will ‌play Senegal on May 31 and ​Germany on June 6 in warm-up ‌matches before opening their Group D campaign against Paraguay [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/paraguay-YaNlqp6j/usa-fuitL4CF/?mid=bo9vy2zK"]in Inglewood, California, on June 12[/a].[/p][p]They will also face Australia and Turkey at ⁠the finals.[/p]