No Clint Dempsey for next U.S. qualifier … is this a good or a bad thing?

The U.S. Soccer supporters’ community is abuzz because Clint Dempsey’s shoulder injury will keep him out of this week’s contest against Honduras, and possibly the match four nights later against Costa Rica. The news broke from U.S. Soccer this morning.

So while the loyalists hash out who should take over at Dempsey’s spot in Bob Bradley’s lineup along the right side of the midfield (Stuart Holden, Jose Francisco Torres, Benny Feilhaber?), I’ll ask a different question:

Is this possibly a good thing?

Anybody who has seen Dempsey’s last few performances in the U.S. shirt knows that something is askew with the Fulham man. From a distance, it appears he’s gotten a little too comfortable with his place on the national team.

The trick here is that Dempsey can still turn a match in an instant. His night at Rio Tinto a month ago against El Salvador said it all. He lolled about, not doing much on defense and absolutely stinking up the joint on offense for almost a half. Then, he turned the whole evening with a clinical finish near goal.

It left lots of room for debate about whether he warranted further lineup inclusion. Simply put: was the good outweighing the bad?

Maybe seeing someone else perform in his role will be the kick in the pants London’s most famous Texan needs. Because this much is sure: no matter what happens over the next week in a World Cup qualifying process that will march forth without him, the U.S. effort will be a lot better off with a fit and in-form Dempsey next summer in South Africa.