The injury bug continues to bite Tyler Adams, the U.S. men’s national team captain and midfielder for AFC Bournemouth. He will miss the start of the upcoming Premier League season due to a back injury that required surgery, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said.

“He is out for some time,” Iraola said in advance of his team’s friendly on Saturday against EFL League One side Wrexham in Santa Barbara, Calif. “It is difficult to say how long but he won’t be fit for the start of the season. But September? October? I don’t know.”

Adams, 25, returned to action in March after much of the previous 12 months due to a hamstring injury that ultimately required two surgeries, one in March 2023 and another in October.

This summer, he worked through back spasms to play in all three games of the group stage of the Copa America, then reportedly underwent back surgery two days after the U.S. was eliminated with a 1-0 loss to Uruguay on July 1.

“He wanted to play Copa America because it was very important for him, but he had restrictions and was still in pain,” Iraola said.

Iraola said it wasn’t his team that signed off on Adams’ participation in Copa America.

“It was not our choice. 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,” Iraola said.

Bournemouth acquired Adams on a $25 million transfer from Leeds United last fall, and he made only three appearances with the team because of injury.

Adams was the captain of the U.S. team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and was voted the 2022 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year after also being a finalist in 2018 and 2020.

–Field Level Media