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Holden discusses recovery from knee injury

Stuart Holden

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By DAN KARELL

Three major leg injuries have stalled the career of Stuart Holden, but he’s not letting it keep him down.

The Bolton Wanderers midfielder is currently rehabbing his most recent injury, a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final last July, but he’s now returned to England to continue the rest of his recovery. Holden was in attendance at Bolton’s 3-2 defeat to Wigan and actually sat in the stands with the fans in the away end.

While he has made plenty of progress, both Holden and his manager Dougie Freedman played down a timetable on when he would return. Holden did hint that he’s already working on his running and sprinting, so a return to group training could come sooner than expected.

Here’s the video of Holden discussing his recovery:

Comments

  1. Sorry to be a downer but I’ve written off Holden already. He’s hugely talented and seems like a nice guy, but I don’t see him staying healthy. Given his history I doubt he’ll ever be able to contribute anything meaningful to the national team.

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  2. This biggest mistake Bob Bradley ever made was not playing Stuart Holden in the midfield over Ricardo Clark against Ghana 2010. Yes Holden was off injury and didn’t have alot of recent games under his belt, but I think more that Bradley did not recognize that Holden’s true position was central midfield, not the wing. Owen Coyle recognized it and Holden went on that year to have an amazing season at Bolton. I don’t believe that Holden wasn’t ready, he made an immediate impact at Bolton a month later. This still pisses me off.

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    • Ha, I’d thought I’d let Ricardo Clark over Holden go, but you brought it up again… I also remember thinking that Guzan should have started over an injured Howard in that game. Healthy, Howard was the clear #1, but he was not the same after his ribs were injured in the England game by Emil Heskey crashing into him, and the goals Howard gave up in that game were ones he normally does better with.

      Sigh. That Ghana game was winnable. June 16 next year is the rematch…

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  3. Stu’s such a cool guy, in addition to being a rare playmaking talent. Can’t help rooting for him. He’s had a nasty string of bad luck. I really hope his recovery goes well and plays for a long time with tons of success.

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  4. He is great, but the same motor that keeps him moving is what put him into tackles he would have done well to avoid. I wish him the best recovery, but as with Charlie Davies, USMNT fans are left to ponder what might have been. Get well soon Stu!

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  5. As has been stated before, when in form Stuart Holden is one of the best midfielders to ever don the US jersey. He would be the ideal back up to Michael Bradley, if he could get back to form soon. I would not count this guy out. I know a lot of people compare his injuries to John O’Brian, but it’s not the same. JOB had scoliosis. Holden has a serious long term issue, possibly, with the right knee, but the left knee ACL injury will likely not keep him from moving forward. It’s also worth noting that even though he’s essentially been out for two years (5 or 6 games withstanding), he hasn’t picked up the bumps and bruises that wear a body down, for example on the hips and ankles. I’m going to predict right now that Holden moves forward with a successful football career, and even though he is not timing well for the WC, he will continue to contribute to the USMNT.

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    • Was it ever really explained how this last injury happened? From what we could see there didn’t look to be a lot to it, and that’s what would be a concern to me.

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    • Disagree. You can’t be one of the best ever if you have never played a WC or hardly any WC qualfiers wearing the US Shirt. Stu has talent yes, but I can’t think of one meaningful game in a WC qualifier or WC game where he did something special. He had the POTENTIAL to be one the best. Sadly, he ran into injuries. We will never really know how he stacks up against the Reyna’s of US past.

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      • He played in the last WC. .. .right wing, can’t remember the game. It was in the first round. The good news is that he’s on his way, and time will tell.

      • skyman,

        You are grasping for straws.

        Yes he played six minutes at the end of the England game.

        I’m not sure he ever touched the ball.

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