Oguchi Onyewu's knee injury could leave his World Cup status in jeopardy for next summer. Onyewu, who suffered the injury in the dying minutes of the U.S.'s 2-2 tie against Costa Rica last week, went under the knife this week after tearing a tendon in his knee.
The surgery, completed by U.S. Soccer's team doctor, was a success. However, the estimated time for recovery is six months. If Onyewu misses such a long time, it raises questions about his ability to be fit for South Africa. Even if he comes back sooner, his pre-injury playing time is no indication that he would be able to get up to match fitness.
Initially it was stated that Onyewu would only miss 3-4 months, and there's no way to be certain how long the defender will be out for — though after surgery is looks more like six. Throw in the injury to Jay DeMerit and the center of defense is suddenly becoming a much bigger headache for Bob Bradley and his staff.
What do you think will happen to Onyewu? Will he be able to recover in time to be at full fitness in South Africa? Is he really going to miss six months? Who should start in his place if he doesn't recover?
Share your thoughts below.
Glad we got to see some of the possible replacements in the Gold Cup and that they learned some hard lessons there. Goodson looked great winning headers and he looked to distribute better than Onyewu does, but the Gold Cup is not the W.C., still he must be winning a lot of those balls or he would not be playing in Norway.
Depth has always been the issue for the US. In 2002, when Armas tore his ACL, there was no obvious proven replacement, thankfully Mastroeni had the tourney of a lifetime as his replacement.
It is hard to believe that there are better replacements for all of Davies, Onyewu, and whoever else gets injured between now and the W.C. We can only hope that some of the younger players and newcomers will step up.
It is ironic how quickly we’ve gone from thinking the center back situation was under control and the LB was terrible to being so concerned about the middle that J.B. now seems like a minor concern.
In reality, while there are special players that can never be replaced, most players on most teams can be replaced and the team will go on just as successfully after a brief readjustment. For the US, Donavon and maybe Howard are those special players. (I am not convinced that Friedel would not come back if Howard were to be seriously injured, so maybe even Howard has a replacement.) Certainly the US defense will look less intimidating without Onyewu, but it might be one that provides better service going forward.
Not good. That’s the problem when there is no depth. US soccer is still way behind other prominent programs due to the Depth factor. 1 thru 11 we can compete with some of the big boys. 11-22 we are toast.
Oh well time for some players to emerge and step up
I suffered a ruptured patellar tendon a couple years ago playing soccer. I am not a professional athlete so cannot comprehend the quick estimated recovery times being reported. If Gooch is back in 6 months playing top flight soccer or even if he gets back to the same level as before if it takes longer, I will have an unbelievable amount of respect and admiration for him.
This sucks! An already shaky defense looks to be even more so now. We needs someone to step up big! Boca, Bornstein or Castillo. Maybe try one of the wingers in the center like spector.
Word.
a 3-5-2 or (3-2-3-2) just for the fun of it:
Altidore — Dempsey
Donovan–BradleyJr–Holden
torres—J.Jones/Edu
Bornstein/Castillo– Bocanegra–Dolo
Per Grant Wahl.. all surgeries are complete. He has 1 or 2 weeks to go in the hospital. Has received 10K+ emails of well wishes.
Police say investigation will take longer than originally expected 1 or 2 weeks.
On other USMNT-related injury news does anyone know when Charlie Davies is going to be released from the hospital or if there’s been any complications to his initial recovery from his horrible accident? It would be nice if his health has rebounded enough if he could at least travel with the team next summer and see him cheering from the sidelines.
I’m cool with that
Our team doctor performed the surgery, not Milan’s. I’m assuming the 6 month timetable was estimated by him or someone else within USSF.
So DeMerit coming back changes nothing?
Shchhors.. I agree with a lot of what you say.. but I think you need Boca in the middle. You are right about him, but I think he’s the only one of the 3 that face a speed of play even close to WC. The MLS guys will be caught silly with the quicker pace. I want to think Spector can play CM. He get’s beat in the air more than he should (on set pieces mostly), but his composure on the ball could be a bonus esp with a Jones and Torres combo in front.
Here’s also hoping for Castillo to be what he might be.
I like it. At least I like it as far as what we’ve got to work with at the moment. Our currently available personnel means a stubborn insistence on a 4-4-2 is just that: stubborn.
I can’t say that I’d necessarily “confident” in how well we’d do next summer, but I can say that I’d be excited to watch what your lineup would do in group play.
As opposed to:
——–Casey——Altidore——-
Donovan—Bradley—Clark—Dempsey
Bornstein–Bocanegra–Marshall–Spector
————–Howard——————
I’d view that lineup without much shot at advancing. The first lineup might not advance, either, but I’d enjoy watching it more.
Play Marshall with Conrad or Goodson until DeMeritt returns from injury. Then Marshall and DeMeritt should be our 1st choice center backs. Keep Bocanegra out of the middle. His indecisive, passive and soft play has been the root of many a chance and/or goal by the opposition. Leave Boca out on the left unless you have to defend against a speedster, in which case Bornstein should get the nod. Of course, with Boca not on the field, we miss his penchant for scoring from set-pieces. But you can’t get everything that you want. On the right, we are well served by either Dolo or Spector. Spector is no center back. Ever see him challenge for a head ball?
Things can go wrong and instead of six months Onyewu could have been looking at a year of recovery.
Orozco, Goodsen, Marshall, Gonzalez, should all be in the next camp.
who knows? injuries are the only reason some of our good players even get a look cuz of the f’ed up US soccer system. they may have to start someone nobody ever heard of and they’ll be the best central defender in US history.
we went to war in the 2002 WC with MLS central defenders(other than berhalter)….i have faith in Bob and the young guys to be prepared come June.
Gonzalez, Marshall, Goodson could all come out of noware and stake a claim. These guys all have the raw physical ability to be dominant in the box.
Remember when we all had Cory Gibbs penciled in as our starting CB for the next 8 years?? Soccer is just like life…curve balls are thrown at you when u least expect it.
Matterazzi had the tourney of his life with Italy in 2006…he wouldnt have got the chance had Nesta been fully fit.
In a sick twisted way the injuries comming this early are a blessing. Gives Bob and Company more than enough time to bleed the younglings
Spector is not a good central defense option u idiots. What about a central defender that has been playing in mexico that everybody seems to forget? Califf should be given another chance.
I tore a tendon around my hip/groin a few years back while trying to hit a long cross, and I’ve never once taken steroids.
What’s your point?
Actually no. McBride had a patellar dislocation – the quadricep and patellar tendons basically stay intact but the patella bone pops out of place to the side. Gooch’s injury is much more severe. The patellar tendon SNAPPED APART – Ouch! The surgery he had was to stitch the tendon back onto the patella bone. He’ll need time to heal the tendon AND retrain his muscles(Quads)to flex and extend normally. Trust me, he’ll be very unlikely to play at the WC this summer.
Could we find and assign some personal assistants to Landon to just make sure nothing bad happens (knock on wood) to him? Please!!!
6 months is what he COULD miss, it’s probably a 4-6month timeframe.
Basically after 6 months he should be ready to go full speed not just being able to start training on the field again(i think).
I’m optimistic but the problem is Bob isnt the type of coach who plays the best players. What I mean by this is, if we severely lack depth at D and have huge depth at Mid, he would still not play 5 midfielders. He would move one of those defensive mids to D before he would do that setup i think, i could be wrong.
I just wanna see the best players possible on the field plz
Medical experiments in animals show that anabolic steroids make the tendons weak, and that may result in tearing or rupture of the tendon. Tendons connect muscles to bones.
I like it. not going to happen but I like it. LA with Gooch and Gonzalez. 6’4″ and 6’5″ this Galaxy fan is salivating from the thought of it.
Yes, I agree bring in Omar Gonzalez to USMNT camp. You may also think about Whitbread over there at Millwall. He has loads more experience than Chad Marshall and others. Can’t hurt to give Whitbread a look. If he plays ugly, cut him.
I bet that the 6 months is total BS. AC Milan has already stated that they are looking for damages. Inflating the recovery time is an easy way to inflate your claim.
Too early to panic. The WC is a long way away.
I’m glad we have a few reliable big center backs but I still think Gooch is head and shoulders above the rest. Not having him fully fit could be pretty devastating to our hopes in South Africa.
In a payback for MLS loaning Beckham to Milan….Milan returns the favor and loans Gooch to LA where Gooch plays April and May with the Galaxy
it means they did what they did, without any complications, or extra cutting/stiching etc etc.
McBride had the same injury and was back on the playing field (Fulham) in 4 months.
I can’t see how a 3-5-2 is going to help. I don’t think that we have the players to pull that off at a WC. It requires superlative defenders (who have comfortable ball skills), good linkage with the mid-field, and a commitment to play posession soccer. While our midfield appears pretty deep, its linkage with the backs has been patchy in some games. The US was burned enough by those intermediate range shots over the past year that I would be very suspect that we could pull off this alignment.
Yes, the Mother of all swear words!!
This is a major blow to the US team and before the injury I was looking forward to Oneywu kicking butt and taking names (and hopefully no red cards) during the World Cup. I hope he gets better and at some point starts for Milan.
Not. Good. The USMNT’s chances at a nice run in the WC 2010 is looking more dire by the day.
My money would be on
Bornstein-Marshall-Bocanegra-Dolo
and then once Demerit is back
Bornstein-Marshall-Bocanegra-Dolo
Omar has looked good this year, and I think deserves a look. What does anyone think about Geoff Cameron? Another impressive young MLS defender like Gonzales. Obviously playing well in MLS does not automatically translate to USMNT success, but I think these guys deserve a look.
I like this. Assuming Bradley calls Jones into camp, and he is a good fit.
Time for the dreaded 3-5-2?
this is absolutely correct. we will not get a seed. so, we could get the anti-2006 group and find ourselves playing South Africa, North Korea and Switzerland. we are due for a break.
Considering Gooch’s ridiculous shape and stamina im predicting a faster rehab, im gonna go with 5 months which will see him back in March
devastating blow though, as he will miss considerable time to really become comfortable with his team. Here’s to Edu, Jones, DeMerit, Marshall all returning quicker.
Suppose it means it went as planned as opposed to opening things up and finding out that something else was damaged, the tendon couldn’t be repaired, or worse (complications in the OR, death, etc.)