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Josh Gatt continues rehab, begins running after latest knee surgery

JoshGattUSMNT (ISIPhotos.com)

After undergoing surgery in September to repair his injured left knee, U.S. Men’s National Team winger Josh Gatt has taken the next step in his rehabilitation process.

The 24-year old American announced on Friday via Instagram that he has started running again and is eager to get back out on the field.

“5 months and 5 days out of my operation and I have started running! I am very happy with the progress I’ve made so far and it has really motivated me to continue to get better and better,” Gatt said in a post on his personal Instagram account. “My running isn’t perfect by any means yet, but it’s a start and another stepping stone to being completely and totally healthy! I will continue on this path of getting healthy until i am back out on that pitch doing what I love. This is by no means an end, but a beginning.”

Gatt last featured for Norwegian side Molde FK in May 2015, but only lasted several minutes before pulling up with more knee discomfort, which led to his most recent surgery. Since joining the club in 2011, the Michigan-native has scored nine goals in 54 appearances.

In his international career, Gatt has made two appearances for the USMNT after previously excelling with the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team.

What do you think of Gatt’s progress? Can he make it back to the USMNT?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I have been saying it for years, and I’ll say it again. Because our American sports culture is dominated by NFL, there are some soccer players who are just too muscular. Jozy Altidore, Josh Gatt, Joe Gyau, etc.

    Excessive muscle is not a good thing in soccer. Gatt needs to lose weight, including muscle mass, and take up yoga to keep limber and avoid muscle strains.

    Reply
    • Hit the nail on the head. As much as people want to blame Klinsmann for the rough year we had last year, the undeniable truth is that our “next generation” of guys to take over for the Dempseys and Donovans of the world haven’t emerged. I’m not saying that to try and defend Klinsmann, just that any manager would’ve had to deal with the dip in America’s talent pool.

      Reply
      • Perhaps but that doesn’t really excuse how bad of a Gold Cup, we had. He’s been slow to transition out of the last World Cup and a couple of the players he did back didn’t perform.

      • I agree with you Dainja.

        And Jack, I’m just as frustrated with you about the GC performance. But what you’re saying partially confirms the fact that this gap in the generation of players coming up due to injuries (Gatt, Boyd, Gyau, I’d even add Holden and Johansson) coupled with some players in the current crop not stepping up/being consistent has forced Klinsmann to rely on veterans perhaps longer than he wanted to. He tried to experiment in the defense to blood some newer guys/partnerships at the GC and it didn’t pan out, but it seems he was trying to inject youth.

  2. Stick a fork in him as far as the USMNT goes. We were all high on him because of his speed, but he still needed to develop technically and tactically. Now he’s lost over two years of prime development time, and had to knee surgeries that have probably affected his speed.

    Good for him to fight back but he’s fighting back for his club career, same as Charlie Davies. USMNT career has sailed.

    Reply
      • Don’t give up on him too fast, each case is different for every player and it could be that Gatt comes through this and is better off because of it!! It’s unlikely obviously considering we’re talking about a player who has relied on speed to succeed throughout his career but let’s wait it out until we put him in a coffin

  3. When you are simply trying to run 5 months after surgery its probably not realistic to expect you will make it all the way back to an international level winger for USMNT. Sad but true.

    Reply
      • But Ramsay’s game is beyond physical ability. Gatt, like Yedlin, was all speed. He will be a very limited player if he doesn’t fully recover from this or if he lost that speed.

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