John Brooks to miss US World Cup qualifiers with back injury

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Defender John Brooks will miss the United States' three World Cup qualifiers this month because of a back injury.

Wolfsburg coach Mark van Bommel said Monday that the 28-year-old Brooks will not travel from Germany to Texas, where the Americans play Jamaica on Thursday night. The U.S. team then confirmed Brooks had been dropped and said he will not be replaced on the roster for the match against the Reggae Boyz.

Brooks started two of the Americans' first three qualifiers in September and is among the few veterans of the team that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Brooks played during the second half of Wolfsburg's 3-1 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday in the Bundesliga. Von Bommel said Brooks may be healthy by the Oct. 16 match against Union Berlin.

Brooks became the second defender dropped from the 27-man roster announced last week. Fulham's Tim Ream withdrew Friday for family reasons and was replaced by Nashville's Walker Zimmerman.

The U.S. also is missing star attacker Christian Pulisic (ankle) and midfielder Gio Reyna (hamstring), who have not recovered from injuries suffered during last month's qualifiers.

After playing the Reggae Boyz, the U.S. is at Panama on Sunday, then meets Costa Rica on Oct. 13 at Columbus, Ohio.

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