United States striker Folarin Balogun has played his first match this year following shoulder surgery.

Balogun returned to action on Tuesday with the Monaco’s reserve team in a friendly match against Brighton’s under-23 side. The former Arsenal player scored a hat trick in the first half, Monaco said.

It’s unclear whether Balogun, who underwent surgery in December on his dislocated shoulder, will be fit enough to play Saturday in the French league against local rival Nice.

The forward had previously been sidelined for about two months with the injury and returned to competition at the end of November. But he took a hit during a French league match against Marseille in the French league that aggravated the problem and he opted for surgery to fix the problem.

𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐍 𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 🔥🇺🇸

Our American striker scored a hat-trick in 45 minutes with the Elite’s Group! 😍

Counting the days to see you back at the Louis-II, Balo! 💪 pic.twitter.com/iEWIhRx9TZ

— AS Monaco EN 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco_EN) March 25, 2025

Balogun was unavailable for the U.S. for last week’s Concacaf Nations League Finals, when Mauricio Pochettino’s side finished a disappointing fourth after defeats to both Panama and Canada.

In Balogun’s absence, the U.S. featured Josh Sargent as the lone striker in the semifinal against Panama, before Charlotte FC‘s Patrick Agyemang was handed the role in the loss to Canada on Sunday in the third-place playoff.

Balogun has yet to feature under Pochettino after the USMNT coach took charge last October.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.