Team U.S.A. World Cup 2014: Jozy Altidore Back for Team USA

Many United States' Soccer fans want to know if Jozy Altidore can make it back in time for Tuesday's clash with Belgium. Its fair to say that with Altidore, the U.S. looked pretty darn good in the CONCACAF qualifying and even though without him they were able to get out of the "Group of Death", they will need him on the pitch if they plan to get to the quarterfinals and beyond.

Latest reports out of the United States camp say that Jozy Altidore will be available for Team USA. In what capacity is unknown. Jurgen Klinsmann is historically known to be a strict taskmaster when it comes to injuries. If you are not 100% fully fit, he doesn't believe you should play. Therefore, even if Altidore is able to dress against Belgium, can Klinsmann trust the dominant forward to play effectively up front alongside Clint Dempsey without him being a liability?

Jozy Altidore is one of the finest athletes in soccer and his size and strength make him an asset to any team and a nightmare to any defense. But, hamstring strains of this variety typically take 4-6 weeks to heal, and a return in under two weeks seems improbable that Jozy is 100%. Not to mention the fact that since sitting out the past few games, his rhythm could be out of sync and it could take some time to acclimate with the speed of the game should he play.

Most likely Klinsmann will not start Altidore and instead choose to substitute him into the game late in the match. Hopefully at that point in time, the United States will have a lead and the opportunity for playing time and to test the hamstring could be beneficial to Altidore if the team advances.

The next question will be what Klinsmann decides to do with his staring XI should he choose to NOT start Altidore. Does he recall the striker to start alongside Dempsey, or does he opt for another striker to take his place like Aron Johannsson or Chris Wondolowski? In the previous two matches, Klinsmann has opted to leave Dempsey alone up top at the forward position and instead replace Altidore with another midfielder like Graham Zusi or Brad Davis. This strategy works when you're trying to control possession, or deny passes to the wings like they tried to do against Portugaul and Ronaldo, but when facing a team like Belgium with talent everywhere, the need to score will be vital. It will be interesting to see what Klinsmann does and if there's any magic left up the German's sleeve.