The USA striker Jozy Altidore admitted he was “crushed” after he was carried off during the dramatic 2-1 victory over Ghana on Monday.
The 24-year-old clutched his hamstring when sprinting for the ball in the 21st minute and was taken off on a stretcher, replaced by Aron Jóhannsson.
Altidore will have a scan on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury but the Sunderland frontman admitted he feared the worst.
“I was sprinting and I felt something. We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I was crushed. I knew right away I couldn’t continue. It was the worst feeling.”
Head coach, Jürgen Klinsmann, who left the USA’s all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan out of his 23-man squad, conceded Altidore’s injury comes as a major blow.
“It was not easy to swallow the first pill of Jozy coming off the field,” Klinsmann said. “He is very, very important for us.”
Meanwhile, Clint Dempsey, who scored the opening goal in Natal after just 31 seconds, also went down with a bloodied nose after a collision with Ghana’s John Boye.
“I just had trouble breathing,” the former Fulham and Tottenham forward said. “I was coughing up blood a little bit. Hopefully I’ll be able to breathe through my nose again before the next game.”
Klinsmann was less concerned about Dempsey’s injury, adding: “I broke mine three or four times and it’s all right. We’ll give him a few days.”
