MARIETTA, Ga. — Antonee Robinson has been a staple in the USMNT’s starting lineup throughout this World Cup cycle. However, the only place he hasn’t assumed that certainty is in his own mind.

This isn’t due to any superstitious beliefs on Robinson’s part. Instead, his confidence has been shaken by a nagging knee injury that required surgery last spring and didn’t heal as expected.

As a result, Robinson had to skip national team camps in both September and November. Although he attended the camp in October, he was unable to participate in any matches.

Should Robinson take the field in the upcoming friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta, starting with the match on Saturday afternoon, it will mark his first appearance for the national team since the friendlies in October 2024.

Assuming he gets on the field in a pair of friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta, the former Saturday afternoon, it will be Robinson’s first game action wearing the stars and stripes since a pair of friendlies in October 2024. 

“There was a lot of concern for me, to be honest,” Robinson said Friday before the USMNT trained at Atlanta United’s facility. “Obviously, I had surgery on the knee. The rehab didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped so even when I came back, I was trying to train and play, I still wasn’t quite ready.” 

Robinson, to be clear, is fine now. He’s played in three of the past four games for Fulham, his club in the Premier League, two of those for the full 90 minutes. There’s no reason to assume he won’t be playing for the U.S. this window. 

“Fully fit at the moment,” he said. “Fully available for all games, all training.” 

That time rehabbing, though, and the start-stop nature of it — surgery in May, missing one game in September, then having to lay off from mid-October through mid-December — took its toll. 

Robinson even said he looked for “outside help” in his rehab. 

“Different opinions on how I could change up what I was doing to get my physical condition a lot better,” he said. “I feel like that helps, and then a series of injections and things like that to try and let it heal. The club’s been really good at managing my load early in the year, responding well to when I got back and played a lot of games quickly to then needing to take a bit of a breather from then as well. So a variety of things have contributed.” 

There’s a logical spot for Robinson in Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup at the left wingback in his preferred 3-4-3 formation. The 28-year-old, who attained U.S. eligibility because his father lived in White Plains and became a citizen, started every game of the 2022 World Cup and has long been a fixture in Fulham’s lineup. 

Still, it’s been a long time since Robinson has suited up for the national team, and plenty around the program has changed. He says he hasn’t missed a beat — being around the program in October was valuable, even without playing time. 

“This camp, fitting back in, you get [told] pretty quickly if you’re not doing the right things in training, whether that’s a little bit of intensity sometimes or anything like that. It’s been pretty easy to pick up,” Robinson said. “I feel like I’ve not missed any time at all being back with the guys, to be honest with you.” 

It’s a different thing, though, feeling and thinking as opposed to performing. That is where the next few days will be so important for Robinson. 

“Realistically, I’ve not played a U.S. game for over a year-and-a-half now. There was no certainty I was gonna be fit and available and make it,” Robinson said. “It just seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. But thankfully, I feel like I’m past that point now. 

“It’s really exciting to be back with the boys and kind of my last opportunity before the summer with the team and show I can still contribute to the national team and do well. Hoping I get the chance.”

JUPITER ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods was taken into custody on Friday following a car accident in Florida, marking it as at least his fourth traffic-related incident and the second time he faced charges for driving under the influence of substances.

Authorities reported that Woods exhibited signs of impairment when he was apprehended at the scene of the crash, where he collided with another vehicle and overturned his Land Rover near his residence on Jupiter Island. Although a Breathalyzer test returned negative results, Woods declined to perform a urine test. Fortunately, both Woods and the other driver emerged unscathed, according to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.

On Friday, Woods faced charges of driving under the influence resulting in property damage and refusal to comply with a legal test, both classified as misdemeanors.

Let’s revisit some of Woods’ previous vehicular incidents over the years.

The first DUI charge

Back in 2017, Woods was also charged with driving under the influence when police found him asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle in south Florida. The car was running, situated in a traffic lane, and showed damage on the driver’s side.

Woods said he had taken a mix of prescription painkillers and had a bad reaction.

He pleaded guilty to reckless driving in 2017 and agreed to complete a first-time DUI offender program to stay out of jail. He received a year of probation, a small fine and community service.

California crash nearly costs Woods his leg

In February 2021, Woods survived a rollover crash in which his SUV ran off a coastal road in Los Angeles County at a high speed, leading to multiple leg and ankle injuries.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Woods was driving between 84 and 87 miles per hour (135 to 140 kilometers per hour) on a winding road with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) when he crashed. No charges were filed.

Doctors said Woods shattered the tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. Those injuries were stabilized with a rod in the tibia. Additional injuries to the bones in the foot and ankle required screws and pins.

Woods spent three months immobilized — a makeshift hospital bed was set up in his Florida home — before he could start moving around on crutches and eventually walk on his own. He said the idea of amputating his right leg “was on the table.”

He did not play on the PGA Tour that year but returned to the Masters in 2022.

Fire hydrant collision

Woods ran out of his home in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 27, 2009, and drove his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor’s yard about 2:30 a.m., authorities said.

That came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging Woods had been seeing a New York nightclub hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne. The Windermere police chief at the time said officers found Woods lying in the street with his then-wife, Elin Nordegren, hovering over him.

The chief said Nordegren told officers she was in the house when she heard the crash and “came out and broke the back window with a golf club.” Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips, and blood in his mouth.