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Davies’ recovering from lengthy surgery for multiple injuries, facing long recovery

Charlie Davies (ISIphotos.com) 
                                                                                   Photo by ISIphotos.com

Charlie Davies is lucky to be alive, and the long list of injuries he suffered in a deadly car accident on late Monday evening provides the evidence.

Davies underwent five hours of surgery on Tuesday to repair the following: a lacerated bladder, fractures to the tibia and femur in his right leg, facial fractures and a left elbow fracture.

Davies had titanium rods in his tibia and femur with no complications. He will be hospitalized at least a week, with more surgeries to follow in order to stabilize his left elbow fracture and possibly his facial fractures.

“Injuries of this nature usually require a recovery period of six to 12 months and extensive rehabilitation,” said U.S. Soccer physician Dr. Dan Kalbac, who is with the team in D.C. and collaborated with the treating doctors. “Due to Charlie’s fitness level, his prognosis for recovery and his ability to resume high-level competition is substantially improved.”

The news is devastating for Davies' playing career, but the severity and number of injuries shows just how lucky Davies was to be alive after surviving a car crash that killed another passenger.

Comments

  1. Smoke bombs will only hinder the ability for the number 9 signs to be seen, which are actually a meaningful tribute and a much better idea than smoke bombs. Please don’t throw smoke bombs. I think that will be an insult to Charlie and all the people who are saluting him. It will look childish and terrible on TV.

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  2. i was in a car accident 6 years ago that left me paralyzed. im glad Charlie is alive and will recover. im glad he did not get any spinal/brain damage. after a tragedy, it’s all about quality of life. hopefully he can have fully mobility and good use of his body to enjoy life. it sucks riding in a wheelchair. good he doesnt have to deal with that.

    i wrote Charlie an email being that i have a unique situation that can relate.

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  3. Onyewu was on Elliot in the Morning today in DC. I had no idea.

    – elliot was like: “so it says here that you may be leaving ac milan by 2010?”

    – and he’s like “uh thats the first ive heard of that. so, no”

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  4. Sochaux may have restrictions on their players in terms of drinking, curfews,etc. Sochaux could potentially litigate against the USSF due to their financial losses. Davies should have been subject to a reasonable curfew at a minimum, limitations on drinking,etc. we are very fortunate. What if it was Donovan? Could have been much worse for US. I said for years we are one injury (Donovan) away from failing to qualify for the WC. No Donovan equals no WC appearance.

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  5. “I would be concerned that Sochaux FC may pull a Mutu on Mr Davies. Ie sochaux might sue davies for the value of his transfer and lost income. While Mutu lost his 23 milliion$ lawsuit with Abrahamovich, Davies might be on the hook for a few million only.

    Posted by: advocat | October 14, 2009 at 10:49 AM ”

    Charlie wasn’t driving and he was wearing his seatbelt. On the other hand Mutu was busted for coke. I don’t think anyone can rescind a contract simply for being out late and having the misfortune of being in a car that crashed. Totally different situation.

    Hopefully it’s just the breaks and there isn’t significant muscle or ligament damage. If it’s just the broken bones (as long as it’s nothing weird in the break), he can probably get back to what he was completely. Bones heal well, and you can get the strength and conditioning back. It will take a while, but it’s possible.

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  6. Regarding Charlie, I hope he will make a full recovery and fulfill all of the potential he has shown.

    With a femur break, you cannot really rush the recovery as some athletes may do with a ligament/tendon injury. It is actually advised that once you can put weight on the injury you do so in an increasing capacity, as this actually stimulates the bone repair. Trust me, he will not be able to put more weight on the leg than the injury allows… but he can definitely be jogging again in about 4 full months time. I would guess he will have access to the best rehab possible, and he also appears very impressive physically so his recovery will hopefully be on the short end of time frames.

    With some luck, Charlie will lose none of his ability once he is fully healed and physically, I would guess that it would be plausible for him to recover in time for the WC (as long as he does not require additional surgeries). However, other factors will obviously contribute greatly. I wish him the best and hope luck continues to be on his side.

    Soccer aside, my prayers go out to all those involved in this unfortunate accident.

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  7. “It pains me as to why he was out that late. Why he broke team rules.”

    USSF has already said that he did not break rules. Because he was not going to play today, he was not subject to the curfew. Additionally, they said he just needed to be back in time for the team lunch that afternoon. So idk, it sounds like he didn’t break the rules.

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  8. Wow I can not believe this, the guy was playing top level soccer and becoming one of our top national players. Its just to bad he will be missing the World Cup, and it will hurt our team. I just hope he can recover from this as soon as possible and be the same player he was before the accident. So get well soon Davies, and may you still be able to be one of the best players the USA has.

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  9. I couldn’t sleep last night as well. Terrible… I felt like I knew the guy via Twitter. Just terrible…

    It pains me as to why he was out that late. Why he broke team rules. I bet he recovers but what he must be thinking about right now…I would never want to experience.

    Get well #9!

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  10. Glad ESPN is keeping us informed. The useless Fox Soccer Report only made a brief, error-ridden mention of Davies’ situation last night before going on to an overly long, useless report on the England national team (which Sky Sports News already provides FSC viewers and does a better job of). Hey Canadians wake up! You’re not England! You’re North Mexico!

    It’s time that FSC dumps the hosers and gets an American soccer report with a US focus just like they’ve finally done with Fox Football Phone-In.

    I hope that Charlie recovers from this nightmare. What a sad twist of fate.

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  11. I’ll be giving the USA my full 90 tonight, but i’ll try hard to ruin my voice at the 9 minute mark. See everyone at RFK

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