US men’s national team defender Sergiño Dest has returned from knee surgery after more than 10 months out of action.
The 24-year-old entered in the 67th minute for PSV Eindhoven against Heerenveen in the Eredivisie on Saturday, coming on in place of fellow American Richy Ledesma.
“Of course I have to take it easy and be careful, but it felt good,” Dest told the club website afterward.
Dest’s return could be especially well-timed for the US national team, which will announce its squad for the upcoming Nations League finals on Tuesday. The two-game tournament will be the last major competition that will involve all of the team’s first-choice players until the 2026 World Cup. The US is set to play Panama in the semi-final on 20 March, with Mexico and Canada playing in the other semi-final that same day. The final and third place game will be on 23 March.
If Dest is named to the US squad and plays in the Nations League finals, it will mark almost exactly a year since his last international appearance, which came in the 2024 Nations League final victory over Mexico. His ACL injury meant that Dest missed the 2024 Copa América in which the US was eliminated in the group stage, which resulted in the dismissal of head coach Gregg Berhalter. A call-up would represent Dest’s first time in camp with Berhalter’s replacement, Mauricio Pochettino.
Dest was loaned from Barcelona to PSV in August 2023 and agreed to a four-year contract with PSV last June. The outside back scored two goals in 25 league matches and 37 overall games before tearing an ACL in training on 20 April, an injury that needed surgery.
He has two goals in 33 international appearances and started all four US matches at the 2022 World Cup.
PSV beat Heerenveen 2-1 and is now second in the Dutch top tier behind leader Ajax.
