BY DAN KARELL
American soccer fans have been given another update on the status of Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan.
Speaking with LA Galaxy Insider ahead of the Galaxy’s CONCACAF Champions League match against Costa Rican side Herediano on Wednesday, coach Bruce Arena revealed that Donovan would return to the team by the last week of March.
Arena wouldn’t be specific on which date exactly his staff expected Donovan to return, but admitted that it would be any time between March 24-March 31. The Galaxy opened their season on March 3, playing without Donovan for the first time since he joined the team in 2005. Assuming he is fit, the 31-year-old midfielder could potentially suit up for his club on either March 30 at Toronto FC or April 6 against the Montreal Impact at home.
The news ensures that Donovan will miss out on the upcoming US Men’s National Team World Cup Qualifiers against Costa Rica on March 22, and Mexico on March 26. The next international match that Donovan could potentially play in is against Belgium on May 29.
Donovan had most recently been seen on the University of Southern California campus, speaking to journalism students, before going on an unpaid trip to Cambodia.
What do you think of this development? See Donovan making an immediate return to the lineup? Do you believe he’ll be a part of the USMNT in the future? Does it make you mad to see him coming back right around the same time the U.S. will be playing Mexico in World Cup qualifying?