DaMarcus Beasley Out for Season at Rangers

One of our favorite American soccer players here at FanHouse has suffered a major knee injury, leaving his club and national team future in doubt.

Rangers forward DaMarcus Beasley tore a knee ligament in a collision with VfB Stuttgart goalkeeper Raphael Shaffer in Tuesday's Champions League action. He will return to America for surgery, and he's expected miss the rest of the Scottish Premier League season. He may also be unavailable to the U.S. men's national team when CONCACAF World Cup qualifying begins in June.

Beasley had scored four goals in 19 matches for Rangers and was just regaining his form after some minor knocks earlier this year. This comes at a bad time for Rangers, too, as they face a must-win game against Lyon on December 12. Rangers need a win or draw to advance to the Champions League knockout stage. A loss drops them into the UEFA Cup.

Beasley's future with Bob Bradley's team is somewhat muddled, given how crowded the midfield has become. We could see more from U-20 stars like Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley and Danny Szetela when the U.S. starts playing friendlies again in January. Landon Donovan might make a return to the team as well, assuming he doesn't have any L.A. Galaxy friendlies in India scheduled before the MLS season starts.