By OkayGoal
Haji Wright played a vital role in Coventry City’s return to the English Premier League but will not be part of Frank Lampard’s squad’s for the early going of the new season.
Wright will be sidelined “multiple weeks” due to a squad injury, Lampard told reporters Wednesday during his pre-match press conference. The American striker was slated to make his league debut on Friday when the Sky Blues visit reigning champions Arsenal in the opening match of the 2026-27 season.
However, Wright’s status for the opening months is now unknown with Lampard not 100% sure when he will be back available.
“Haji Wright won’t be available for the Arsenal game,” Lampard said. “He won’t be available for a little while, he’s got a very serious quad injury which is disappointing for Haji and for us. It’s certainly going to be a number of weeks, could even be up to 12 weeks.”
Wright, 28, registered his third straight season with double-digit goals for Coventry City as the Sky Blues lifted the EFL Championship title last spring. The U.S. Men’s National Team striker tallied 18 goals in 43 appearances with nine of those coming during the second half of the season.
His impactful campaign at Coventry City earned Wright a second-straight FIFA World Cup call-up, but Wright only played two minutes in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Wright did not feature in Lampard’s squad during preseason while forwards Taiwo Awoniyi and Sidiki Cherif recently joined the club this week as summer signings. His new injury will likely force him out of contention for the USMNT’s final post-World Cup roster in September when Pochettino’s squad faces Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada during a combined international window (Sept. 26-Oct. 6).
Coventry City will take on the Gunners on Friday before visiting Plymouth Argyle in EFL Cup action next week.