Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By IVES GALARCEP
Stuart Holden knew. He didn’t need a scan to tell him that he was facing another major knee injury, but on Monday the tests on his injured right knee came back with the news he and the U.S. Soccer community were praying wouldn’t come.
Holden has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee, an injury that could force him out for nine months.
The injury is the third major injury Holden has faced in the past three years, and comes just months after his return from an 18-month layoff from a devastating injury to his left knee suffered in March of 2011.
Holden had enjoyed a strong run of form in the 2013 Gold Cup, and was looking like a strong contender for playing time with the full U.S. squad when September World Cup qualifying rolled around, but now he faces another daunting road to recovery.