Midfielder John Harkes will return to the U.S. national team for the first time in 16 months when he joins the squad for the FIFA Confederations Cup, July 24-Aug. 4 in Mexico. Harkes replaces David Regis, who in the last 36 hours has developed swelling in his left knee and will not be available for the matches in Mexico. “I called John in because he’s in good form right now,” said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. “He’s an experienced player and will give us some cover in the midfield.” Although the USA’s official 20-player roster for Mexico was submitted to FIFA on Wednesday, U.S. Soccer received verbal approval from the sport’s world governing body to make the roster substitution, which according to FIFA regulations can be done for medical reasons prior to the tournament. Written documentation from FIFA was not received, but is expected in the next day. Regis entered camp this week healthy after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on June 1 to clean out some loose cartilage. The speedy defender suffered the knee injury earlier this year while playing with his club, FC Metz. Harkes last played for the United States on Feb. 25, 1998 in a 2-0 loss to Belgium. The veteran has scored six goals in 86 international appearances. The United States will open the Confederations Cup against New Zealand on July 24 (2:30 p.m. CT), continue on to face Brazil on July 28 (8:30 p.m. CT) and will close out group play against reigning European Champions Germany on July 30 (6 p.m. CT). All three of the USA’s matches and the entire Group B schedule will be played at the Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara. The matches in Group A, which include Mexico, Egypt, Bolivia and Saudi Arabia, will take place at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals.