Werder Bremen’s USA international striker Josh Sargent has been ruled out until the new year with a muscular tear.

According to the Werder website, the injury first surfaced in mid-November, but Sargent was unaffected as he scored twice against Cuba to help book the USA’s place in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals.

The 19-year-old also featured in the second half of Bremen’s Matchday 13 win over Wolfsburg, before experiencing pain in the problem area. Subsequent scans conducted by club doctor Dr. Hellermann revealed the extent of the damage.

"It’s a small, deep-seated muscle, so it’s only under very specific stress that the problem shows itself," explained Bremen head coach Florian Kohfeldt. "That’s why he was able to play in matches and train so much without any problems. We’ll give Josh the time he needs for the injury to heal. He’ll be back in training at the start of January."

Sargent’s absence means he will miss Werder’s final four Bundesliga games - against Paderborn (h), Bayern Munich (a), Mainz (h) and Cologne (a) - before the onset of the winter break.

It is the first injury setback he has encountered since scoring with his first touch on his top-flight debut in a 3-1 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf on 7 December 2018.

He doubled his tally against RB Leipzig on his third of 10 appearances during the second half of last season, and has played in a further 11 Bundesliga matches in 2019/20, making six starts and registering two goals and as many assists.

Watch: Josh Sargent reflects on his start to life in the Bundesliga with Bremen

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Werder - 13th in the current Bundesliga standings - could welcome back Sargent to competitive action when they travel to Düsseldorf for their first league match of the Rückrunde on 18 January 2020.

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