Top Stories

Holden sidelined again, will miss 6-9 months after latest knee surgery

StuartHoldenBoltonreserves1-Everton (Bolton)

Stuart Holden’s bad luck with injuries has reared its ugly head yet again, with Bolton announcing on Tuesday that the U.S. National Team midfielder will miss 6-9 months after undergoing knee surgery.

The news marks the latest in a series of injury setbacks for the 28-year old, who will be facing his fifth lengthy injury recovery in four years.

Holden’s latest injury came in a reserve match that marked his return from his most recent previous injury, a torn ACL suffered in last summer’s Gold Cup Final.

Holden’s latest setback means he will not be able to play for Bolton again until next season, as he will face a race against the clock to be healthy in time for the start of the next season for the Trotters.

The latest newest also closes the door on Holden’s chances of making the U.S. World Cup team. While he was already considered an extreme long shot, there was still the faintest of hope that he could recover in time to make a case for himself. The latest injury ends that hope.

Ever the optimist, Holden countered the injury news with an announcement of his own on Tuesday, revealing on Twitter that he is now engaged to his long-time girlfriend.

https://twitter.com/stuholden/status/443511249377042432

Comments

  1. As a Greenville guy who watched Clemson’s soccer team (which included Gooch as well as Holden) play a couple different times, gotta say…this is wretched. Watching Holden start to come back and show flashes of his old form in the Gold Cup…and now, bam….setback after setback….heartbreaking.

    Not fair. It doesn’t seem like Stu’s knees are likely to hold together no matter what they do…but if he wants to keep trying, it’s his life. One example that keeps popping up in my head is another former Clemson guy, NFL running back Terry Allen…who overcame five different ACL surgeries, and had to reconstruct both ACL’s himself, to become a productive NFL running back. Allen didn’t quit either and ended up having a pretty durn good NFL career long after everybody thought he should have been done.

    Sometimes you just gotta keep on keeping on, no matter how grim it seems. Certainly not our place to tell a guy who refuses to knuckle under that he’s gotta quit…and it does seem that it’s the guy who refuses to quit who often gets the last word.

    Reply
  2. Dumb question and probably doesn’t matter but what did he specifically injure this time? ACL seems a given based on projected recovery time, but I am wondering if there was damage to other ligaments as well.

    Reply
    • Don’t think they’ve announced it. Bolton’s tweet said “the ligaments in his right knee.” So yeah, probably more extensive than just one.

      Reply
  3. I admire his perseverance, however, he may want to consider retiring. I know he loves the game, but he’s only 28, and he’s had several major injuries to his knees/legs in the last five years. As another poster pointed out, there’s life beyond soccer, and he doesn’t want to have to undergo a total knee replacement at, say 45, because he didn’t back off when he was younger in the face of multiple, severe injuries. Nigel DeJong and Johnny Evans should be ashamed.

    Reply
  4. Stu was a gladiator, he just wasn’t the last one standing.

    It is not bad. Let them play.

    Let the guns bark and the bombing-plane
    Speak his prodigious blasphemies.
    It is not bad, it is high time,
    Stark violence is still the sire of all the world’s values.

    What but the wolf’s tooth whittled so fine
    The fleet limbs of the antelope?
    What but fear winged the birds, and hunger
    Jewelled with such eyes the great goshawk’s head?
    Violence has been the sire of all the world’s values.

    Who would remember Helen’s face
    Lacking the terrible halo of spears?
    Who formed Christ but Herod and Caesar,
    The cruel and bloody victories of Caesar?
    Violence, the bloody sire of all the world’s values.

    Never weep, let them play,
    Old violence is not too old to beget new values.

    -Robinson Jeffers-

    Reply
  5. Off thread, but a hoot none the less. Does anyone remember biff saying Arsenal will win 3:1 and Bayern players will lie in the prone position, on their backs, crying like babies? And does any one here follow Yahoo soccer articles where there is a commenter with the nym TA?

    If so, then you will agree, the biff here and the TA there are one and the same.

    Reply
  6. at least his girlfriend didnt leave him….then we could have written a Country song. $10 says he returns…I wish him the best

    Reply
  7. Did Holden comeback too soon?

    I hope Josh Gatt takes his time… but on the other hand Falcao’s camp is announcing that he is 50% done with rehab… that is just crazy!

    Maybe Strootman will make WC 2014 after all…

    Reply
  8. And he is engaged to his GIRLfriend. Rules out a contract with L.A. after he recoevers and can’t play very well anymore.

    Reply
  9. Terrible news. However, if you want to find a bright spot, Holden has received some nice contracts. He was arguably Bolton’s best players his first year and got a very nice contract extension. He got injured shortly thereafter. He came back and started playing again when his contract was running out and got another extension. Financially, Holden has done pretty well for himself. There are plenty of young players that suffered serious injuries early in their careers and never received a good contract. All in all, still bad news though.

    Reply
  10. You know folks, I think there’s one person who gets to decide what happens next and that’s Stu. If he says one more go, who are we to contradict? I’ll leave professional opinions to his doctor and just satisfy myself with dreaming of him and Bradley, two old salty dogs leading the US into the 2018 WC.

    Also, glad he’s living his life. Good on him.

    Reply
  11. If I was his brother, I would become the best player I can and represent Holden. I would fight to live his soccer dream and make a good team in Europe and play World Cup with USA. So now it’s up to little Holden, let’s see what he can do for his brother.
    As for Holden, I say become a college coach and work your way to a pro team. He has the charisma and soccer skills, why not not a college soccer coach. What ever you do Holden, do not become a soccer analyst, become a coach anywhere in the world and god will give you wins and trophies like that.

    Reply
    • Oh please.. this is an internet comment board. Nobody needs to ask you a question in order for you to give an opinion. Who asked you to have a go at the commentators saying that Stu should retire? See what I mean?

      Officially retire or not, doesn’t really matter. He’s already been in a de-facto retirement these last few years; he’s hardly played at all.

      Reply
    • Do you actually think its worth it for this poor kid to keep trying? Injury after injury after injury. He needs to think about his future life.

      Reply
    • I think people are legitimately worried that there might be long term physical impacts from so many leg injuries. Kind of the reverse of not seeing where the meat at the grocery comes from, we don’t see what athletes look like after they are done. The bruising running back who now walks with a cane or in a wheelchair. Some of the head injury stuff with NFL coming out recently is a rare window into life after sports.

      Also, he seems to be so dedicated that it’s like you feel like you need to tell him, he’s tried hard enough, that otherwise he’ll just keep rehabbing and trying until he’s broken in some permanent way.

      Everybody seems to like the guy and I think the basic fear is he will go right back to it and the cycle will continue and continue and he’ll physically break down and maybe the trademark optimism will crack. It’s a sign of respect to say, we honor your contribution, time to retire kid. We think you could be in broadcasting, coaching, etc. (though I’d suggest having multiple interests since he has plenty of life to live but will have to acknowledge soccer playing is over, which is hard).

      Reply
  12. We all know this is a voodoo curse given to him by Arturo Alvarez/Sacha Kljestan for not letting them break into Bob Bradley’s roster. Just come back home Stu, BBVA stadium and MLS will be a nice safe environment that will let you play a full 90. Sure you’ll be 29 by the time you see the pitch but you’ll still be the fresh 21 year old we fell in love with.

    Reply
  13. Unlucky for Holden again, great player with possibly the worst luck there is. Good to see he is keeping a positive attitude through this. Would make a great game analyst.

    Reply
  14. Never thought I would think a talent like Holden should hang up his gear but his body is telling him that he should. I hope you get well soon Stu.

    Reply
  15. This is awful news. More for him than the USMNT.

    Your body is saying no Stu. It’s time to hang it up.

    Poor guy. Bad things really do happen to good people.

    Reply
  16. Stu needs to face the fact that his knees cant take it….. he lasted 20 minutes this time. If he was smart, he’d try and figure out something else to do. Sometimes you just have to face the facts. Twellman had to do it and I think Stu should too

    Reply
  17. What the Heck !! We can’t even blame Jonny Evans for this. Its more of his knees than anything else. Another John O’brien sad to say. Next time we come across another exceptional crossing talent like these guys lets just stick them on the field with any enforcing hard tackling DM we can find.They need the on the field body guard.

    Reply
    • Holden’s case is much worse than that of O’Brien. At least O’Brien had the 2002 World Cup, where he played very well and was instrumental to the U.S. run to the quarterfinals. Holden has comparable talent, but has never had a that kind of career run and possibly never will. Very unfortunate.

      Reply
  18. Didn’t this all start with that red cad tackle by Johnny Evand from Man U? I’m a Man U fan but I hate him for that. He should pay Holden’s earnings.

    Reply
    • A case could be made that his injuries relate back to the tackle from DeJong in the friendly Vs. the Netherlands. Ever since then he’s been on the self more than the field.

      Reply
      • Yes, it all started with the Nigel De Jong tackle that broke Holden’s leg in a friendly vs the Netherlands. Stu makes Derrick Rose seem healthy by comparison. It won’t be long before all he has left is scar tissue.

      • Its unfair to make it sound like Stu has naturally weak knees when he was savagely injured by two different people to begin his chronic issues.

      • plenty of players come back from injuries like the intial ones Holden suffered; I agree DeJong is a thug but I dont think you can blame him for Holden’s current situation.

      • It is hard to say “in fairness to DeJong” but if you watch that tackle on Youtube Holden was a bit ambitious and it was really a 50-50 ball. I love Stu for his reckless abandon, but the same thing that made him great cost him his career.

    • Michael F. SBI Mafia Original….nah, I wouldn’t blame Evans. Poor Holden is made out of glass, it would of happened regardless. Some players are just built that way unfortunately. Agree, with most comments he should hang’em up and maybe concentrate on becoming a coach. Worked for Mourinho.

      Reply

Leave a Comment