USA boss Juergen Klinsmann has explained his reasons for not selecting former captain Carlos Bocanegra in his squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Costa Rica and Mexico.
Klinsmann has named a 23-man squad to face Costa Rica in Colorado on Friday before heading to Mexico City early next week but Bocanegra, on loan to Racing Santander from Rangers, will not be a part of it.
Klinsmann said the fact the former Fulham, Rennes and Saint-Etienne man wasn't playing at club level prompted his omission decision but insisted that he still has a future at international level.
"With Carlos, I have had several very good conversations over the past weeks. The reason he's not here is because he's simply not playing," Klinsmann told ussoccer.com.
"He's not getting any minutes with Racing Santander in the second division in Spain, so he has no flow, he has no rhythm, and he understands the situation.
"Carlos is still in our picture. This is not the end of his National Team career. He understands that right now he's behind other players. He's not in the starter picture and he understands that he gives other players a chance to show what they can prove.
"A very positive approach from Carlos, very professional. It really shows great character from him. We'll play it by ear over the next couple of months, how his situation hopefully will improve. He's on loan until the end of the season. That's basically two more months and then he probably makes another switch in his career. This is definitely a situation where we re-evaluate it in a couple of weeks down the road."
