Some major USMNT players made successful returns from injury this weekend, while others must contend with new set-backs. There were also goals, bloodied heads and costly reds (cards) in an eventful weekend for U.S. players in Europe.
Welcome to this week’s player tracker.
Antonee Robinson had hoped his misfortune was behind him this season.
After finally recovering from the complicated knee injury that caused him to miss 12 league games earlier in the campaign, he returned ready to make up for lost time. In a World Cup year, the Fulham left-back had left no stone unturned — including doing extra work with independent injury specialists — to get fully fit.
He was back in December and started nine consecutive games, quickly reminding everyone of the sensational form he has shown in the Premier League for some time.
Antonee Robinson in action against Manchester United earlier this month (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
But whether it was the long-term impact of not having benefited from a regular pre-season, or ongoing soreness as his body fully recovered, his immaculate form tailed off a little last month.
It led to the almost unthinkable scenario as manager Marco Silva left the 28-year-old on the bench for Fulham’s games against Everton and Manchester City at the beginning of February, with both matches ending in defeat.
Robinson was not even in the squad for Sunday’s win over Sunderland, prompting concern from fans of the London club and U.S. national team alike.
“He felt something in his ankle throughout the week,” Silva told The Athletic after his team’s 3-1 triumph at the Stadium of Light. “He tried yesterday (Saturday) in the session and he wasn’t feeling 100 per cent to come to the game. We took a decision to not bring him with us and to put another player in the squad.
“It doesn’t look serious. It was something he felt throughout the week. He tried in a session but wasn’t in a condition to come.”
Sources close to the player, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect professional relationships, explained that the defender initially had a dead leg after a blow to the thigh muscle above his troublesome right knee last week. To make matters worse, he then rolled his ankle in training and had to miss Friday’s session altogether.
As Silva revealed, an attempt to join a light session on Saturday was aborted when Robinson could not run properly.
Nobody close to him fears this mishap will result in another lengthy lay-off, although they cannot say whether he will have recovered in time for Sunday’s home match against Tottenham Hotspur.
It is another unwelcome blip in a season when Robinson should be rampaging down the flank, creating chances and gearing up for the biggest international tournament of his career.
Pepi and Adams return to action
It was not all worrying news for injured American players, though.
For Ricardo Pepi and Tyler Adams, there were far more upbeat moments over the weekend. The former made his comeback for PSV after missing nine league games since breaking his arm in January.
That break happened in the process of scoring a goal, and he made sure to score again after coming on as a late substitute in his side’s 3-1 win over Heerenveen on Saturday.
It was a clinical finish from the 23-year-old, even if his manager Peter Bosz admitted he had not been sure the striker would make such an immediate impact. He never doubted him when the chance beckoned, though.
“I have to tell you, very honestly, that I didn’t know what to expect from him,” he told the PSV website. “He shot two goals, one of which was disallowed. That goal he did score was a typical Pepi goal. If he gets the ball there in that spot, you can count on a goal.”
Bosz and PSV fans should enjoy Pepi for the rest of the season, as he is likely to depart in the summer.
There is a world where he starts next season lining up alongside Robinson at Fulham. The Cottagers worked on a deal to sign him during the winter window and will return to it at the end of this season.
Ricardo Pepi celebrates scoring his team’s third goal against Heerenveen (Bart Stoutjesdijk/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
Adams has missed the same number of league games for Bournemouth as Pepi did for PSV, and the midfielder was also back on the pitch at the weekend. The 27-year-old, who suffered a tear to his medial knee ligaments in December, was able to start in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at West Ham.
He played over an hour before being substituted as a precaution, and his return will be a major relief for both club boss Andoni Iraola and Mauricio Pochettino.
“We needed Tyler to start today, play for 66 minutes and we didn’t want to risk any longer with him,” said Iraola. “We have some players like him, starting to become available but we have to be safe with them still. They need minutes training and minutes in games but it’s good because we want players for the second half of the season.”
Alex Scott and Tyler Adams warm up ahead of Bournemouth’s game at West Ham (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
And what of Christian Pulisic?
In another important return, Christian Pulisic was back in Milan’s starting line-up for the first time since January 18 in Serie A.
The bursitis that has hampered him has been carefully managed by Milan’s medical team, limiting the USMNT star to brief cameos from the bench.
But he started in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Parma in San Siro, and lasted a little over an hour before coming off.
He had created a couple of chances for his team, and had a shot which brushed the post but, ultimately, the defeat leaves Milan 10 points behind rivals Inter in first spot.
Balogun: Unstoppable
Folarin Balogun’s hot streak continues, with the striker having now scored three goals in his last two games.
The USMNT forward built on his impressive double in the Champions League last week against Paris Saint-Germain with another strike, this time in Ligue 1, as Monaco beat high-flying Lens 3-2.
Balogun’s goal started the comeback for his team, who had gone 2-0 down but ran out winners thanks to a second-half rally led by the American. Monaco put AI to good use on social media afterwards to celebrate.
FOLARIN BALOGUN 🇺🇸
3 goals in his last 2 games 🔝 pic.twitter.com/6g8uqwSZOL
— AS Monaco EN 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco_EN) February 21, 2026
Bumpy ride
Two U.S. defenders had bumpy weekends in more ways than one.
Chris Richards suffered a nasty head-to-head collision with Wolves player Santiago Bueno during their game at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
Richards, who had earlier almost scored an own goal via an unlucky deflection that dropped just onto the roof of the net, was down receiving treatment for a while.
It was borderline whether he could continue, but the 25-year-old was patched up and bravely played on.
Chris Richards receives treatment after his clash of heads (Paul Harding/Getty Images)
In the end, he was celebrating as Palace picked up a hard-earned win to give them a sense of much-needed momentum after losing to Burnley and drawing with Zrinjski Mostar in the Conference League in their last two games.
In Scotland, there was no upside to Auston Trusty’s painful afternoon. He was sent off for violent conduct after chopping at the arm of Hibernian’s Jamie McGrath when he grabbed him in the penalty area before a corner.
VAR instructed the referee to intervene and he sent Trusty off after reviewing the incident carefully.
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill felt it was harsh — and the Glasgow club’s afternoon got worse as they conceded an 88th-minute goal that cost them vital ground in the title race.
What’s coming up this week?
There is more Champions League play-off action to savour this week — with the stakes high for the second leg ties.
See if Balogun can keep scoring and help Monaco pull off an upset by knocking out PSG on Wednesday (3pm, Paramount +) or whether Weston McKennie can help Juventus overcome their 5-2 loss at Galatasaray with a big win in Turin (8pm, Paramount +).
The day before, on Tuesday, Malik Tillman will be hoping he can help Leverkusen finish the job against Olympiakos after they won the first leg 2-0 (Tuesday, 3pm, Paramount +).
In Spain, Johnny Cardoso played all 90 minutes of Atletico Madrid’s 4-2 win over Espanyol at the weekend, so he will want to keep that positive form going as his team enter a finely poised second leg with Club Brugge in Madrid (Tuesday, 12:45pm, Paramount +).
Finally, in the UEFA Conference League, Richards will hope for a pain-free evening as Palace try to progress in the second leg of their play-off with Mostar (Thursday, 3pm, Paramount +).