Columbus Crew defender Frankie Hejduk has been forced to pull out of the USA's World Cup squad.

Hejduk suffered a cruciate ligament injury in his right knee during Crew's 1-0 loss to Kansas City Wizards on Saturday, but the full extent of the damage was not discovered until he underwent a scan on Wednesday.

The news forced USA coach Bruce Arena to call Los Angeles Galaxy's Chris Albright into the squad.

"I deeply regret having to replace Frankie Hejduk on the roster," said Arena.

"Frankie's been a great member of the national team program for many years. Unfortunately, this last-minute injury has forced us to make a change.

"I'm delighted to be able to offer Chris Albright an opportunity to be a member of our team. As the case with all of our alternates, they need to be prepared in case a situation like this occurs."

Hejduk was a member of the USA squads for both the 1998 and 2002 finals, but Albright is far less experienced, having won only 19 caps since his international debut in September 1999.