Every cloud... Boro gain as Morris misses out

MIDDLESBROUGH have received a boost ahead of the start of pre-season - although it’s not good news for Aidan Morris.

- By CRAIG JOHNS

Despite enjoying a great first season at Boro, Morris has missed out on a 27-man USA training squad for friendly games against Jamaica and Switzerland early next month, before the start of the Gold Cup this summer.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has said his Gold Cup squad will be made up of 23-26 players from the current 27, meaning Morris won't take part.

It will be a blow for Morris, who has aspirations to make the USA squad for the World Cup on home soil next summer. The Gold Cup squad is being billed as important Stateside because it is Pochettino’s first and only chance to have an extended period with his squad before the World Cup.

Morris had made all of Pochettino's USA squads until March. He missed out that month after being forced to withdraw from Novem-ber’s camp after picking a knee injury that would rule him out for two months. It remains to be seen why Morris hasn’t been selected this time. He did make the 60-man pre-liminary Gold Cup squad, with Pochettino admitting omissions were due to a mixture of football rea-sons and also, in some cases, per-sonal circumstances/needing a rest.