U.S. men's national team legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard have taken exception to Antonee Robinson's quick return for Fulham after missing USMNT duty to rest an injury.
Robinson withdrew from the Concacaf Nations League roster with tendinopathy, an overuse injury. The left back said that the problem had become "increasingly difficult to manage" and he viewed the international break as his "only opportunity to try and get on top of this issue."
The USMNT struggled badly at the Nations League, losing to both Canada and Panama. Robinson, meanwhile, has started both of Fulham's matches after the international break.
That fact didn't sit well with Donovan, who admitted he was expecting Robinson to miss time if he was unable to play for the USMNT.
"If I'm being honest, I was expecting him to be out a few weeks," Donovan said on the "Unfiltered Soccer" podcast.
"I think I was naive, and now I'm kind of coming to grips with what really happened here. He ended up starting the next weekend for Fulham. And if I'm a national team fan, and I don't really care about Fulham but I care about Antonee Robinson, I'm pretty pissed off because the team suffered through the Nations League."
Though the joint all-time leading USMNT scorer said he respected Robinson's decision, he added that it showed the Nations League was clearly at the bottom of his priority list.
"So this is about priorities. Antonee Robinson has three competitions that he cared about in the last two or three weeks,” Donovan said. “The Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Nations League, right? So these are three important tournaments.
"And his decision was, ‘I’m going to not focus and not put my priority on the national team, and I’m going to put my priority with Fulham for the FA Cup and the rest of the season.’ Now, I understand that — I’ve been in his shoes, I get it — but it’s your national team and your country, and I didn’t like the decision, personally.”
Fulham's English-born US defender #33 Antonee Robinson crosses the ball during the English FA Cup quarterfinal match between Fulham and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage in Fulham, west London on March 29, 2025.
Howard concurred with his longtime USMNT teammate, saying that Robinson had the option to rest his injury for Fulham matches rather than the Nations League.
"Whatever issue that he was dealing with, it needed rest and it needed a 10-day rest or something and he’s managing that," Howard said. "I think from a U.S. Soccer standpoint, he could have rested it the Premier League weekend before, which would have given him a week.
“He could have played in the U.S. games and then rested it for the FA Cup. He chose to take the rest during the Nations League. But again, I think that is what we’re seeing, that’s his choice and I think on a level of priorities, it was the Premier League, FA Cup, and men’s national team."