DeAndre Yedlin returned to play after missing about four weeks

Yedlin’s injury apparently wasn’t as bad as it had looked.

DeAndre Yedlin returned to action over the weekend, helping Galatasaray beat Super Lïg-leading Besiktas, 3-1. The win moved Galatasaray to within three points of the lead and just one point out of the second Champions League spot with two matches left to play.

As recently as a month ago, Yedlin’s future looked far less clear. On April 10, he suffered a nasty-looking injury that his coach suggested might be a broken bone. Not only was there a seemingly good chance that Yedlin would miss the rest of the season, but there was concern he could also miss out on a busy stretch for the United States men’s national team.

But those fears quickly subsided and a more optimistic timeline for his return began to emerge. That Yedlin was healthy and fit enough to play 90 minutes against Turkey’s best team seems almost miraculous.

Just as importantly, Yedlin should be available for Galatasaray’s final two games. The first is a road game against bottom-of-the-table Denizlispor. They then close out their season at home against 13th-place Yeni Mal’spor. If they can win those games, there’s a good chance they’ll at least qualify for Champions League, a competition in which a Washington-born player has never participated.

On Monday, Yedlin also found out that he was named to the preliminary roster for the Nations League. That list of 40 players will eventually be trimmed to 23. The United States plays Honduras on June 3 in the Nations League semifinal and then would play either the championship or third-place game on June 6. The USMNT also plays a friendly against Costa Rica on June 9.