Bornstein blows out knee

Talented American defender Jonathan Bornstein suffered a sprained LCL on Thursday during training with his club Chivas USA and is expected to be out for about two months.

This is a tough blow for Chivas whose defense has been rather suspect to start the season. As documented in an early article about the Goats de Americano keeper Brad Guzan, Chivas has surrendered a second-worst 2.17 goals per game.

This also means that Bornstein will be unavailable for the U.S.'s home-and-away matches against Barbados next month, the kickoff of second round World Cup qualifying action. The U.S. will host Barbados on June 15 and then travel for the seond-leg on June 22.

Although the Nats will have little trouble dealing with the island nation's best even without Bornstein, these early games in World Cup qualifying could help coach Bob Bradley determine the strongest squad to face stiffer CONCACAF competition. Plus, knee sprains have a habit of staying with athletes for a few months, so fitness will be a concern well into July and August.