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Onyewu expected to return in March

Oguchi Onyewu 2 (Getty Images)

by FRANCO PANIZO

Oguchi Onyewu likely won't play in the U.S. national team's friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on March 3, but he should be fully recovered from his knee injury and back training with club AC Milan sometime that month.

Onyewu ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee during the U.S. team's final World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on Oct. 14, putting his World Cup availability in doubt, but according to a report out of Canada, U.S. head coach Bob Bradley expects Onyewu to return to training in March.

"Assuming that there's no unexpected developments along the way, we have the confidence that Gooch will be back in training by March, and hopefully getting some games, and the confidence will return so he'll be ready to go for South Africa," Bradley told CBCSports.ca.

Bradley also spoke about the status of injured U.S. national team forward Charlie Davies, who suffered multiple injuries in a deadly car accident on Oct. 13. Bradley said Davies' recovery through the initial stages has been nothing but positive, but that it is too early to determine whether he would be available for the World Cup.

Bradley added that he will get a better sense of Davies' potential return as the Sochaux striker moves along each stage in rehabilitation.

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What do you think about Onyewu returning to training in March? Do you see him getting minutes with MIlan before the World Cup? How hopeful are you that Davies will make the World Cup squad?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. AC Milan is 9-1-1 since Onyewu injury — best league record of Europe elite (Serie A, EPL, La Liga, Germany France) during that time. Silva and Nesta are playing superb defense and scoring.

    Onyewu will sit if he stays in Italy. He needs to get out now.

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  2. Wow, if the U.S. starts both a winged back and a vampire, I can’t see them conceding even a single goal. At the very least they’d be great at getting up to head away crosses . . .

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  3. i was thinking the same thing, just a loan to the MLS for the spring, but honestly for a rehabing playing that needs to get into world class form, AC Milan’s reserves is an ideal spot. not a bad idea tho, getting full 90 minutes here in the USA would be great for him and US fans.

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  4. Despite the criticism of Spector against Tottenham, he looked very comfy on the left side. He didnt give too much away against a marauding Aaron Lennon. I say put him at left back and Cherondolo at right. Gooch and Demerit at center backs. I don’t trust boca at center back. Too many goals are scored because he’s ball watching or trying to protect his balls instead of making a challenge.
    We put Edu, Jones, Bradley in midfield against england. donovan and dempsey in front of them and charlie or Josy up top and we play for a draw. we lose 2-1 or 1-0 we are still in great shape.

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  5. The most striking thing about that interview is looking at Gooch’s leg. There is a lot of muscle atrophy compared to the right leg. Even after the tendon is good to go, he will have to do a lot of strength training to get that leg fully back in shape

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  6. I know the finances may preclude it, but I sure wish Gooch could work out a loan to an MLS club prior to the WC. He would get some real games (yes, I know everyone will say the reserve games at ACM are higher quality) under the watchful eye of Bradley and the US staff. ACM’s goal is not to get him ready for the WC but rather to have him ready for next season. Let’s face it, there is zero chance he will get any first-team action this season with them. It seems as though the suits at USSF and MLS can engineer this (especially if the Galaxy is involved!).

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  7. I take: Gooch, Boca, Demerit, Spector, Marshall, Bornstein, Castillo, and Cherundolo.

    I’m not a coach who fancies taking back up after back up when it comes to defense. We play a solid back four, so when it comes to tactics the only option Bradley allows for is putting in more defenders or a DM.

    My starting line-up is:
    Spector-DeMerit-Gooch-Boca

    Albeit I haven’t seen much of Cherundolo recently.

    Conrad is a decent CB but is a bruiser which is what DeMerit offers so no need to double it. Marshall could use the experience as he is a future starter.

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  8. So, which centerbacks go to South Africa?

    I think Bocanegra, Onyewu, and DeMerit are pretty safe bets, with Marshall likely the #4 choice. Personally, I really like Jimmy Conrad, but I can’t see Bradley taking him. Unless…

    I think you could justify taking five center backs. Bornstein, Spector, and Cherundolo make it as your outside backs. Even though Bornstein is the only one who exclusively plays left back, you have Bocanegra who plays left back for club and Spector who is capable of playing on that side (I might even prefer to see him as the starter on the left with Cherundolo on the right). In this case, I think it’s reasonable to consider Conrad for that final roster spot. It becomes a question of who do you value most–Conrad, Simek, or Castillo/Pearce? Personally (at the moment), I think Conrad wins that spot.

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  9. Thanks for the link on Gooch, Tres. Good to see him working hard, keeping his spirits up and getting back in form. Also, we really should be grateful about the amazing news on Charlie Davies. I remember when the accident occurred there were initial concerns that he might not survive much less play again and much more less even begin to consider playing again anytime within the next couple years. Whether or not he’s still the same powerful, speedy player remains to be seen but the fact we’re even discussing the possibility of any kind of appearance for CD in South Africa is beyond remarkable. Still, I hope there isn’t pressure from the team to force this to happen. The World Cup’s too big a stage to take a risk on unfit players, even of Davies’ talent.

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  10. March seems like a decent timetable to get back in form for the WC. Unlike Beasley, Gooch doesn’t seem to suffer huge drops in confidence when he’s not been playing regularly. No guarantees, obviously, but this is a promising development–I hope he makes it back!

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  11. A. PT s.u.c.k.s…. It is brutal, painful and in some ways, demoralizing.

    B. I had a major injury that I had to recover from, and made more progress fighting my way through a few months of PT than in the months before and after.

    Hard work, but well worth it.

    I hope Charlie’s rehab is going well, also.

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  12. Please don’t rush Davies back Bradley. The kid is young enough to get at least two more tries at World Cup glory – no point in severely injuring him because we rush him back for a 10 minute appearance (see Michael Owen last World Cup). Nor worth it.

    Gooch seems like he’ll make a nice recovery in time. March gives him close to four months. Not sure how much proper match time he will get prior to the tournament but I’d rather have him in the middle with DeMerit than Boca.

    With Edu back, things are looking up again. Teams can be broken based on injury – let’s hope we got ours out of the way early.

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  13. On another note, I saw Freddy Adu at the Washington Wizards game last night. I wanted to heckle him but I decided in my slightly drunken state it was not the correct thing to do. Still the greatest youth player I have ever seen with my two eyes. (I had the great honor of getting schooled by him in the Maryland State Cup a few times.)

    Good to see Gooch back. I just hope he gets games, because a sharp Gooch was a brick wall in last years Confederations Cup.

    I will still be amazed in Charlie Davie returns from his injuries. I keep my fingers crossed though.

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  14. Great news on Gooch. I do not think he will get first team minutes in Milan, but that will not matter. If he has recoverd he will be on the plane to SA. Davies on the other hand even if her recovers just in time will not be going to SA.

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  15. That’s good though, they love vampires in Italy. It also allows him to train 24hrs, outside at night and inside during the day, to get back to form.

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  16. good to see Gooch back. We need him back and in form. But the key is in form.

    In 2006, we suffered because we carried John O’Brien, who hadn’t played due to injury in 4 yrs(!) just hoping against hope that he could make it. JOB was one of the best players ever produced by the home of the brave, but not only does he take a roster spot, but you also create unrealstic expectations that he will save the day that upsets the rest of the squad.

    That said, last we heard CD9 was way ahead of schedule. Any chance he could be back in training in March??

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  17. Man, i really hope he will get back to training with AC Milan with ample time before the World Cup. From the little bit that I saw him in action it seemed that just training with them was improving his distribution from just helter skelter clearances to actual clearances directed to our players. Once he gets the hang of that he’ll be one of the best in the world.

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  18. well if you do the maff. Gooch got injured in October and the initial time table was 6 months…so he’s right at that time table. He still looks like he’s in the very early stages of recovery. thanks for posting the cnn link

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  19. I hope we see all ofthe injured guys ready for the world cup but it is probably a stretch to think that. Gooch is probably one of the few currently injured that will make it back and I think training with Milan and getting some reserve games will be the most he can expect with out some kind of injury problem there.

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  20. That pic makes me believe that Gooch has taken some time during his rehab to become a vampire. Prolly a good thing since, imo, more vampires should be named Gooch.

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  21. great to hear. Do we know if he’s still in Delaware? Robbie rogers tweeted he was getting sushi w/davies when he was in LA, I wonder if they’ve both moved rehab/PT to the warm climate

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