USA
Hejduk Injured, Albright Added to World Cup Squad
By Russell Shiring
May 3, 2006
Chris Albright has made his first World Cup roster.
After being named as one of 13 World Cup alternates, Chris Albright was expectedly disappointed about being left off the U.S. roster. Within 24 hours he was feeling entirely different emotions after being named to the team following an injury to defender Frankie Hejduk.
Albright, a L.A. Galaxy defender, will now join U.S. manager Bruce Arena and the rest of the U.S. team for training camp on May 10.
"I'm delighted to be able to offer Chris Albright an opportunity to be a member of our team," Arena said. "As the case with all of our alternates, they need to be prepared in case a situation like this occurs."
The Philadelphia native is a converted forward who has earned 19 career caps for the national team and won two MLS Cups with the Galaxy. This will be Albright's first World Cup.
Hejduk, a two-time World Cup veteran, suffered a torn right ACL during the Crew's 1-0 loss to Kansas City last weekend.
"I deeply regret having to replace Frankie Hejduk on the roster," Arena said. "Frankie has been a great member of the national team program for many years. Unfortunately this last minute injury has forced us to make a change."
Hejduk was projected as a role player in the upcoming World Cup.
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