‘I have to make it’ - Inside USMNT and Houston Dynamo midfielder Jack McGlynn’s injury recovery and World Cup mindset | Goal.com Malaysia

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The mental side of physical injuries

The injury couldn't have come at a worse time. Well, maybe it could have, particularly with that aforementioned World Cup around the corner. That's not how McGlynn saw it at the time, though.

In September, just weeks after taking part in the USMNT's first post-Gold Cup camp, McGlynn was sidelined. A significant foot injury had ended his 2025 run. Surgery was coming, and so was everything that comes with it: rehab, doctor's visits and one of those little scooters to ride around on for at least a little while.

From a USMNT perspective, McGlynn's injury was a backbreaker. He was forced to watch on as the U.S. really began to turn things around. After winning against Japan in his final national team appearance of a breakout 2025, McGlynn watched the team go unbeaten through four straight games, culminating in a 5-1 win over Uruguay in their best performance of the year.

"Knowing that I got called up and then got hurt, it sucks, because I know I should be there," he says. "I know I should be playing those games and making a name for myself, but I was just so happy for the team. Honestly, like, I'm not a guy who's going to wish for them to do bad when I'm not there. I want the team to do as well as they can if I'm there and, if I'm not there, I'm supporting them from home. They're all my boys. I love the coaching staff, love all those guys, so I want them to do as well as possible. I was so happy for them, but, yeah, obviously, it sucked to miss it."

The USMNT camp wasn't the only thing McGlynn missed. At the time of McGlynn's injury, the Dynamo's playoff hopes were hanging by a thread. Again, all he could do was watch on as those hopes dwindled and the club missed the postseason.

"It can kind of get to you," he admitted. "Seeing your teammates play, you want to help them. You want to be there for them, knowing that they need you. Those two games I missed with Houston were a killer to me. Watching from the stands, I felt like I could be out there helping my guys. Those are my brothers. I share a locker room with them every day. 

"It's like a mental thing, but you've got to accept it. You're hurt, and it sucks watching. Man, it's a feeling I never want to have again. Being helpless, watching my team struggle, it's the worst thing you can do. I'm just thrilled to try to be healthy this year and help my team, because I never want to feel that again."

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'I never thought I'd do that in my life'

So what does a professional athlete do when they are sidelined? It's hard to really understand that life until you've lived it. There's a lot of free time, a lot of boredom and a lot less structure. Players go from training and working out every day to, suddenly, nothing. It requires a rapid adjustment.

"That's the hardest part," McGlynn said. "Honestly, it's not even the injury stuff. It's like, 'What do I do with myself during the day?' Like, I can't walk, I can't play soccer, I can't do what I love, so about finding other hobbies, I guess."

Soccer stayed top of mind. Game film was key, and there was plenty of it to watch from his 2025 run. "How can I improve without playing?" was a question McGlynn asked himself. The best way to do that was to keep his mind sharp, particularly knowing that his body wasn't and wouldn't be for some time.

Even so, there are only so many hours in a day when someone can watch gametape. The others were spent finding other forms of entertainment. Call of Duty helps. So, too, did crossword puzzles. McGlynn's brother helped him get into those.

"I never thought I'd do that in my life, but, hey, here we are," he joked of his new crossword hobby. "You sit at home bored the whole day. You do nothing until you have to work out or do rehab and then you come back home. What do I do the rest of the day? I can't go out. I can't go get food at a restaurant. I'm on a knee scooter! So it was always, 'How can I get better while I'm doing nothing?' Sometimes it was watching film. Sometimes it was to take a mental reset. 

"I'm always just trying to get better every second of the day, no matter if I'm playing Call of Duty, just recovering, or any of that stuff. I'm always trying to get advantages, which kind of helped me mentally get over this."

It also gave McGlynn some time to reflect on 2025, a year that, despite the injury, saw McGlynn's life change for the better.

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Reflecting on 2025

With McGlynn, selecting a defining moment for 2025 wouldn't be hard. It was, without a doubt, his goal against Turkey. Just minutes into the USMNT's first game of the summer, McGlynn pinged a Goal of the Year contender from long range. It happened so quickly, he told GOAL this summer, that his family hadn't even sat down yet. They didn't need to worry, though; it was replayed endlessly on social media.

That was the peak, but there were plenty of other big moments, too. In the end, McGlynn earned 12 USMNT caps after entering the year with just one. He scored his first two goals: the aforementioned goal against Turkey and a stunner against Venezuela in the January camp a few months prior. Throughout 2025, McGlynn made the leap from young player to USMNT player, putting himself right into the mix in the year leading up to the World Cup. 

That wasn't the only shift. McGlynn's big move to Houston came in February as his hometown club, the Philadelphia Union, sold him to the Dynamo. It was a big change, one which forced McGlynn out of his comfort zone. He feels he's better for it.

"It was definitely a crazy year," he says. "It definitely started off great with the national team, scoring my first goal, which was a really good goal. That's probably the best way I could have started, and then I got the move to Houston. It was a big change for m,e and I think getting used to that and then settling in there, finding my role, and kind of making a name for myself there, becoming the guy there, that's what I wanted to do. 

"I wanted to make my name with the national team, obviously, too. It was amazing this year, getting so many opportunities with the coaching staff, with the team, with the players there. It's been such a good year, and I hope to have an even better one this year."

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'The more I help Houston, the more it'll help me'

The process of making this year better has already begun. Now fit again, McGlynn says he feels bigger and stronger. He was able to put some muscle on during the winter, and every little bit counts.

There's no masking what lies ahead. McGlynn, like all MLS players, has a short runway to the World Cup. The Dynamo open the season on Feb. 21 against the Chicago Fire. A few weeks later, the USMNT convenes for the final time before manager Mauricio Pochettino begins to assemble his World Cup roster. For a player like McGlynn, who is fighting for a spot in a crowded midfield, there's no time to waste, and no room for excuses, even with the injury absence.

"I think the more I help Houston, the more it'll help me get there," he says. "As long as I'm playing there, balling out there, I know I have the quality to be at the World Cup, so that's where I'm at with it."

It didn't take months of thinking to come to that conclusion. After spending the final months of 2025 sidelined, much of McGlynn's thinking brought him right back to the obvious. He wants to be at the World Cup. He knows how hard it will be to get there. He knows that it will test him mentally and, more than ever, physically, particularly in these first weeks of the 2026 MLS season. He remembers that every time he looks at his phone and every time he sees that lock screen. Years of waiting have turned to months and, pretty soon, it'll turn to weeks. The World Cup is right around the corner, and McGlynn can't stop thinking about it.

"I haven't had an offseason," he says. "It's been working towards that even since I got hurt. I think that'll help me, honestly. I feel like I'm just continuing from last season. I've been in the facility every day since I got hurt, basically. It's not really new to me. I'm ready to come out flying. I'm ready to show that I'm a better version of myself this year, too."