Soccer

Yedlin wants to be the team’s Energizer Bunny

Yedlin missed last month’s home loss to Costa Rica and then a draw at Honduras that put qualification in peril.

He became the first rookie in eight years selected for MLS’s All-Star Game and was given his national team debut the following February by coach Jurgen Klinsmann as a 74th-minute substitute in an exhibition against South Korea.

Yedlin made another late appearance two months later against Mexico, and then at age 20 was among several startling selections by Klinsmann for the 23-man World Cup roster in 2014.

During that World Cup in Brazil, Yedlin made late appearances against Portugal and Germany, then replaced an injured Fabian Johnson in the first half of the second-round overtime defeat to Belgium.

Yedlin made 27 league appearances but Klinsmann criticized him that October, saying he struggled in consecutive national team training camps.

A hamstring injury caused Yedlin to miss March qualifiers, the first after Arena replaced Klinsmann in November.

Yedlin returned for the June games, then injured his right hamstring while making a cross in Newcastle’s July 29 friendly at Germany’s Mainz.

Yedlin looks forward to returning to England, where he rents a house built by former Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini.

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