American defender Sam Vines is not going to play games for Belgium’s Royal Antwerp all the way through the UEFA Champions League workforce level as a result of his identify was once by chance left off the squad checklist the membership submitted.

“We didn’t do it right,” Antwerp supervisor Mark van Bommel stated in regards to the administrative error, in keeping with Belgian newspaper HLN. “Vines did belong on the list. We made a mistake and it cannot be corrected.”

The 24-year-old Vines joined Antwerp in 2021 from MLS’ Colorado Rapids and has been a common fixture at left again for a lot of his occasion in Belgium. He helped Antwerp accumulation a Champions League berth when he began the second one leg in their qualifying join in opposition to AEK Athens extreme occasion and was once in the beginning anticipated to be a mainstay all the way through their workforce level marketing campaign.

Vines will spend at some time at the sidelines nearest resignation a league recreation in opposition to Union Saint-Gilloise with an shock on Sept. 3 however is predicted to be again earlier than the top of the Champions League workforce level on Dec. 13.

“How does he deal with that? Well … Everyone wants to be on that list,” Van Bommel added. “Of course he is disappointed. But he is now focusing on his rehabilitation, that is the most important thing.”

Antwerp have been drawn into Workforce H along FC Barcelona, Portugal’s FC Porto and Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. They’re going to now not be eased within the workforce level — they head to Camp Nou to stand Barcelona of their first fit on Tuesday. It is going to be an uphill combat for Antwerp to complete within the supremacy spots of the gang and go to the spherical of 16, however Vines can be rooting for his facet to pack a couple of upsets to assure he performs any Champions League mins this season. A stint within the Europa League is conceivable, must Antwerp end 3rd playground of their workforce.

Vines was once anticipated to be considered one of a number of American citizens participating on this season’s Champions League. The checklist of U.S. ability taking part within the pageant contains AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna, Union Berlin’s Brenden Aaronson and PSV’s Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi.