US goalkeeper Tim Howard is expected to start the next World Cup clash against Slovenia on Friday despite taking a boot to the chest from England's Emile Heskey, US coach Bob Bradley said Sunday.

Howard dived to gather the ball late in the first half as a sliding Heskey jammed his right boot into the American's chest, although Howard stayed in the game and made several key saves in a 1-1 draw Saturday.

"I was hurting and sore," Howard said. "I will be even more sore the next couple of days, but maybe it will get me out of training."

Howard was to be evaluated late Sunday to see if more tests are needed or if he might have broken ribs. But Bradley said the performance he saw from Howard makes him think the Everton player will be back on duty against Slovenia.

"At this time I think there's no answer, but when you see the way Timmy handled himself after the collision, you would certainly expect he will be on the field again," Bradley said.

"He did a great job of taking a tough hit and staying in it and playing real well. We will assess him later and figure out what we have to do."

Two other English club goalkeepers, Marcus Hahnemann of Wolverhampton and Brad Guzan of Aston Villa, are in reserve if Howard cannot handle the injury days after he played through pain to deny England a victory.

"It felt like agony," Howard said. "I knew Heskey was going to slide in and he had every right to that ball same as I did. You just leave yourself exposed when you are at full stretch and he caught me just under my chest and ribs.

"I was in a lot of pain and was going to give myself 5 or 10 minutes to try to get back. I felt a lot of discomfort but some pain medication at half-time eased it a bit."

But as US defender Steve Cherundolo noted, adrenaline and the needs of the moment can energise any player on a stage as huge as the World Cup.

"Any time you are in a big game like that and get injured, there's no chance anybody is taking you off that field," Cherundolo said.

"It speaks to Tim's character. Guys are really excited about our chances of making the next round now."

Howard answered solid challenges from Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, shaking off the hard hit to deny England's vaunted strikers and earn a much-needed point for the Americans.

"When you play at the highest level against the best competition, if you are up to the challenge, it will bring out the best in you," Howard said.

"England has so many potent strikers and midfielders that you are going to have to be on your game in order to play well."

Slovenia, who defeated Algeria 1-0 on Sunday to go top of the table, figures to offer a more tactical challenge in the Americans' next Group C match at Johannesburg.

"It'll be a different kind of game," Bradley said, "They have an ability to sit back a little more and still get you on the counter. The Slovenia game might be more of a chess match."

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