USMNT striker Patrick Agyemang ruled out of World Cup after suffering Achilles injury with Derby County

The striker went down with a non-contact injury in the first half of Monday's Championship clash and was visibly shaken almost immediately after the incident. Agyemang was stretchered off while being consoled by teammates, with the club saying he would go for scans to determine the extent of the injury.

The scans revealed the worst, as Derby confirmed that Agyemang suffered a serious Achilles injury.

"The club can confirm Patrick Agyemang suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury during the first half of the Sky Bet Championship fixture against Stoke City," Derby said in a statement. "Patrick will be undergoing a further assessment of the injury later today. The club will provide Patrick with the highest level of medical care and rehabilitation throughout his recovery. Everyone at Derby County is fully behind Patrick at this difficult time and will continue to support him every step of the way.

"As a result of this injury, Patrick will unfortunately miss this summer’s FIFA World Cup. At this stage, it would be wrong to put a timeline on his recovery. Further updates will be communicated in due course."

Agyemang's impact comes at the worst possible time for him personally, as it will officially rule him out for the World Cup. It also comes as he was building momentum to be part of that World Cup roster.

The striker was called up in March and featured against both Belgium and Portugal during the international break. He scored the USMNT's second goal as a substitute in the 5-2 loss to Belgium before coming off the bench again and providing some bright moments in the 2-0 loss to Portugal.

Agyemang was in the mix to be named to Mauricio Pochettino's group of strikers, with Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Josh Sargent and Brian White among those to feature in the position over the last year or so.

The USMNT will hope to avoid any other serious injuries before Pochettino's squad is finalized in May. After that, the U.S. will play friendlies against Senegal and Germany to prepare for the World Cup, where they'll face Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey in the group stage.