Photo by ISIphotos.com
As the list went up on the TV screen this afternoon, Charlie Davies' absence was immediately noticeable, and for many U.S. fans, devastating.
Charlie Davies didn't make the U.S. national team's preliminary World Cup roster, unable to recover from his injuries in time to be selected. It's a crushing blow for Davies, who had been targeting the World Cup ever since he first climbed his mangled body out of a hospital bed for the first time six months ago.
As tough as it is to accept right now, the reality is that the end of his 2010 World Cup dream is the new beginning of his journey to rebuild a career that showed so much promise just eight months ago. He still hasn't recovered fully from all his injuries, but he will now have four more months to rehab and rest and take a break from the emotional roller coaster he has been on for the past seven months.
There is plenty for Davies to look forward to, from the Ligue 1 season with Sochaux in the fall, to the 2011 Gold Cup, to World Cup qualifying in 2012 and 2013, to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He is still just 23 and if we learned anything about Davies over the course of the past five months it's that he will give his all to accomplish his goals.
Davies didn't reach the goal of the 2010 World Cup, but you have to like his chances of accomplishing the next set of goals he sets for himself.