The United States national team took a monstrous blow earlier today when it learned that left midfield mainstay, DaMarcus Beasley, would have knee surgery after a nasty collision with Stuttgart goalkepper Raphael Schafer during Wednesday’s 3-2 loss at the Gottlieb Daimler in Germany.  This raises serious questions about who will replace Beasley, as ligament damage like this can mean months and even a year ore more out of the lineup.

Lucky for the red, white and blue, they don’t play a competitve match until late August, and could likely reach the final CONCACAF qualifying stage without Beasley.  I expect Beasley to be back to himself in no less than 12-16 months, meaning he’d be ready for the stretch run to 2010 with the Americans; the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa and the aforementioned final round of World Cup qualifying.

This begs the questions as to who will replace the all-but irreplacable Beasley on the left side.  The odds-on favorite has to be Freddy Adu, as he has booked a spot on the senior team, but has yet to share the field with Landon Donavon.  Another long-term possibility is Jonathon Bornstein, who plays mostly at left back, but is something of a defensively liability. 

The temporary fix will be aging left winger Eddie Lewis, but I’m curious, who do YOU think should be the new left midfielder?  Comment below or e-mail 101Live@101Soccer.com and we’ll discuss it on Tuesday’s show.