Brian Ching to Miss Four to Six Weeks

Houston Dynamo and U.S. national team striker Brian Ching will miss four to six weeks with a hamstring strain, according to reports.

The early end of that prognosis has him back on the field for a few days before national team coach Bob Bradley names a pool for the team’s final World Cup camp in mid-May.

The other end has him still hobbled when Bradley picks the 23 guys to board the plane with him for the trip to South Africa.

I thought he was a good bet to make the squad a few weeks ago, but now I’m not so sure.

Can Bradley afford to take Ching, who was never pacey to begin with, to the World Cup with him not being in top game shape? Of course, Ching’s main attributes as a national team player – intelligence and a willingness and ability to hold and then distribute the ball – are not really linked to his left leg.

With Herculez Gomez setting the world on fire with Puebla in Mexico – eight goals in 10 appearances – it will be tough to justify taking a less-than-100 percent Ching over a player in such a fine vein of form.

So, who’s the right choice here?

Is it Ching, Gomez or door number three?