Bournemouth midfielder and USMNT international Tyler Adams has returned to fitness and could feature against Arsenal on Saturday.
The 25-year-old returned to first-team training during the recent international break after spending three months on the sidelines. Adams underwent surgery on his back two days after the USMNT were knocked out of the Copa America in July.
Speaking in his press conference on Friday, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola confirmed Adams is back with the squad and “ready” to make his return.
“Everyone is going to be available. Different cases,” Iraola said. “The case of Tyler, he hasn’t played a lot so he might lack some game time which is normal. He has trained very well. He is ready. The same with Milos (Kerkez). He is feeling better. We still have to train today so we will see but yesterday they both trained.”
During the summer Adams started in all three of his nation’s Copa America matches and was withdrawn at half-time in the 2-0 victory over Bolivia and in the 2-1 defeat to Panama.
Speaking in July, Iraola was asked why Bournemouth did not prevent Adams from going on international duty given he was not fully fit and in some pain. “It was not our choice,” Iraola said. “It is a decision for the nations, who are allowed to select players, and he wanted to play thinking the injury would get better but he felt it was getting worse.”
This is not the first time Adams has overcame a lengthy lay-off. A hamstring issue caused him to miss a year of football between March 2023 and March 2024. Last season he featured just three times for Bournemouth in the Premier League with his most recent appearance coming at home to Brentford in May this year in the penultimate game of the 2023-24 campaign.
On his return to fitness, Adams is understood to have picked up minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Southampton last week.
(Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
