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ESPN staff 7y

U.S. should not call up injured Geoff Cameron - Stoke boss Mark Hughes

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes says he would be "aggrieved" if the United States calls up injured defender Geoff Cameron for the international break.

Cameron missed Stoke's draw with West Ham on Saturday with a minor injury that also kept him out of Monday's win over Swansea.

And Hughes said after Saturday's game that he would prefer that Cameron stay in England, rather than travel across the Atlantic for the World Cup qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica.

"I wouldn't have thought so," Hughes told NBC when asked if the U.S. would call up Cameron. "Clearly he's not here today because he is not fit. They should hopefully take our word on that.

"I don't see any point in them asking him to travel just to get checked over. That would compromise him a little bit as well.

"If sense prevails hopefully he will be fit and well for the next time they come together."

The absence of Cameron, who was injured on Oct. 22 in the dying moments of Stoke's win against Hull City, would be a blow for the U.S. as Jurgen Klinsmann prepares to announce his squad on Sunday.

Cameron played every minute in all of the Americans' Copa America games this summer, as well as the most recent World Cup qualifiers in September and last month's friendly in Cuba.

"I've been trying to get fit," Cameron told ESPN FC this week. "Obviously I want to play against Mexico -- that's the big game for sure -- and I'll devastated and upset if I can't. But if I'm not right, I'm not right."

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