THE FIRST ORDER of business for this edition of the ASN Injury Report is to address the elephant in the room, so let's hop to it: 

FABIAN JOHNSON missed the afternoon training session and is a doubt for Borrussia Mönchengladbach’s trip to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday due to a thigh injury, the club stated on Tuesday.

The U.S. international asked to be subbed off in the 111th minute of the national team’s 3-2 loss to Mexcio because of muscle tightness. Jurgen Klinsmann, who at that point was considering using his last substitution to bring on penalty specialist Nick Rimando, consequently booted Johnson from camp national team duty so that the Borussia Monchengladbach player “can rethink his approach about the team,” which made Die Fohlen’s announcement all the more surprising. Expect more pot-stirring in the days ahead

Saturday could have gone very differently if ALEJANDRO BEDOYA hadn’t been out with fever. The Nantes midfielder vented his frustrations and support with a pre-match Tweet:

Sucks to be here & not be part of such a big, important game. All I can do is support the boys hard! Let's go USA!???????? pic.twitter.com/TkMsyEzQDE

— Alejandro Bedoya (@AleBedoya17) October 11, 2015

Back in the Bundesliga, JOHN BROOKS spent the weekend regaining his match fitness, as he was passed from the charge of fitness coach Hendrik Vieth to head coach Pal Dardai. German newspaper BZ Berlin reported that on Sunday the central defender was put through a grueling 10,800 meters in 70 minutes by Dardai and is expected back in team training this week.

Red Bull Leipzig forward TERRENCE BOYD suffered a major setback in knee rehab and had to go under the knife again, this time for fluid build-up from inflammation. Leipziger Volkszeitung wrote on Wednesday that Boyd’s knee was stable after having the cyst removed and his lateral meniscus—which was previously operated on last December—was smoothed to prevent further inflammation. Not return date has been set, but the expectation is several months out. 

MAURICE EDU is out for the rest of the year after undergoing sports hernia surgery, the Philadelphia Union announced Thursday morning. The team captain had been struggling with various knocks over the past couple months and last featured in the team’s second straight U.S. Open Cup Final, where it in penalties lost to Sporting Kansas City.

“Mo played through a lot of pain in our run to the U.S. Open Cup Final over the last few months and we certainly commend him for that,” said Chris Albright, Philadelphia’s technical director. “Having the surgery now ensures he’ll be ready to go come the end of January.”

MICHAEL BRADLEY was not part of the Toronto FC squad on Wednesday due to a mild groin issue picked up with the national team. Fortunately the club didn’t need him (or a loquacious Jozy Altidore) to beat the New York Red Bulls, 2-1, and secure its first-ever spot in the playoffs.

Another week, another update from Borussia Dortmund winger JOE GYAU:

Getting closer everyday ???????????? pic.twitter.com/47p4H6curD

— Joe Gyau (@36finest) October 9, 2015

Chicago Fire goalkeeper SEAN JOHNSON is working hard to return to full fitness ahead of the 2016 season, after an annus horribilis for both him and the club. Johnson was ruled out for the rest of the season with a labral tear in his left shoulder picked up in September, forcing him to watch the Fire sink to the bottom of the league and coach Frank Yallop shown the door.

“It was a year of a lot of injuries and a lot of things in adversity to deal with both on and off the field,” Johnson told MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. “It’s been tough. Results haven’t really gone our way, it feels like every time something could have gone against us, it did, throughout the year. But that’s something you have to deal with as a player, as a person and really press through it and make yourself better and use it to reflect and get better as a player.”

CHAD MARSHALL should be available for Seattle's game against Houston on Sunday. The reigning MLS Defender of the Year returned to training Monday and was fully active a few later after suffering a neck strain two weeks ago. Seattle can clinch its playoff spot with a win against the Dynamo.

SHANE O'NEILL is fit and training well with the first team, Belgian side Royal Mouscron Péruwelz told ASN. An inner-ear infection kept the U-23 star from joining the squad for the recent Olympic Qualifier Championship, where the U.S. finished third and will now face Colombia in a March playoff. O’Neill was involved in a friendly against Lille last week and now faces an uphill battle of breaking into a squad that is doing well in the league so far.

Nick Kariuki writes both the ASN Injury Report and the MLS Roundup every week. Follow him on Twitter.