Alejandro Zendejas undergoes knee surgery; big blow to Club América | OneFootball

Wednesday morning began with a text message from Club América’s communications department informing us that Alejandro Zendejas, who recently represented the United States at the World Cup, had undergone knee surgery. The winger played just 13 minutes during the group-stage finale against Türkiye, and now we may finally know why.

The El Paso, Texas native successfully underwent an arthroscopic clean-up procedure on his right knee. At first glance, the words “joint clean-up” made it sound like nothing too serious. But after a little digging, it became clear that América’s star man is expected to be sidelined anywhere from four to eight weeks.

That raises some uncomfortable questions. Did Zendejas play the World Cup with the USMNT while nowhere near 100 percent physically? Does that explain why Mauricio Pochettino barely used him throughout the tournament?

América’s No. 10 finished the Clausura 2026 season in spectacular form, earning a spot in Pochettino’s final World Cup squad. Unfortunately, his reward is missing the beginning of the Apertura 2026 season. He has also withdrawn from the MLS vs. Liga MX All-Star Game scheduled for July 29 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

And make no mistake, losing Zendejas is far from a minor inconvenience for Guillermo Almada’s América, who open their Apertura 2026 campaign this Saturday away to Querétaro.

The problem is that Zendejas’ injury isn’t happening in isolation.

No Off-Season Signings

With only days left before kickoff, América’s front office still hasn’t completed a single signing. That’s becoming increasingly concerning. Meanwhile, reports continue linking Brian Rodríguez, Sebastián Cáceres and Israel Reyes with potential exits. As of today, no formal offers have arrived for either of the Uruguayan internationals or the Mexican defender. Ironically, Brian Rodríguez and Reyes’ limited World Cup minutes may actually be hurting their chances of securing European moves (and be a boon to América).

If André Jardine’s departure at the end of last season wasn’t enough drama—bringing an incredibly successful era to a close—América’s lack of urgency in the transfer market has only made the mood around the club worse.

It’s exactly the kind of offseason that gets supporters fired up… for all the wrong reasons.

Time in Theory, but Probably too Late

To be fair, there’s still plenty of time. The transfer window remains open until September 11. But considering the league kicks off this weekend and Leagues Cup arrives in August, América simply have to reinforce the squad if they genuinely expect to compete for trophies.

The Coapa giants haven’t lifted silverware since winning the Clausura 2024 title. Since then, they’ve failed to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup, fell short in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last semester, and everyone knew some sort of rebuild was coming.

The only problem?

We’re all still waiting for the rebuild to actually begin.

Besides Jonathan dos Santos and Néstor Araujo, who have officially left the club, Guillermo Almada also has no plans to include Rodrigo Dourado or Vinicius Lima in his Apertura 2026 project. Both Brazilians arrived at André Jardine’s request and ultimately turned into transfer flops.

How did Club América’s players perform at the 2026 World Cup?

Israel Reyes was one of Javier Aguirre’s most important players, logging a total of 200 minutes for Mexico. His tournament came to an end after El Tri’s dramatic 3-2 loss to England in the Round of 16.

Meanwhile, Brian Rodríguez and Sebastián Cáceres endured a disappointing tournament after Uruguay failed to reach the knockout rounds. La Celeste exited after the group stage with draws against Saudi Arabia (1-1) and Cape Verde (2-2), along with a 1-0 defeat to Spain.

Cáceres was an undisputed starter, playing all 270 available minutes, while Brian Rodríguez managed just 38 minutes as a substitute across Uruguay’s three matches.

América’s likely starting XI

Rodolfo Cota; Cristian Borja, Sebastián Cáceres, Israel Reyes, Kevin Álvarez; Isaías Violante, Erick Sánchez, Alan Cervantes; Brian Rodríguez, Rodrigo Veiga, Henry Martín

On paper, that’s the team expected to begin the Apertura 2026… and let’s just say it isn’t exactly inspiring. It also explains why excitement around América is currently sitting somewhere between “cautiously optimistic” and “please announce a signing already.”

We also recommend: https://hooligan-soccer.com/the-biggest-storylines-in-the-liga-mx-apertura-2026/