March Return for Onyewu Appears Likely

It is being reported that Oguchi Onyewu appears to be on track for a March return from the ruptured patellar tendon he suffered in the October 14th qualifier against Costa Rica (barring any unforeseen complications), giving him approximately three months to regain his match fitness and form before the World Cup. This will be welcome news to USMNT coaches and fans, as this report coupled with Jay DeMerit's successful return to the playing field have added a great deal of stability to a back line that was quite shaky in the November friendlies without the aforementioned duo in the lineup.

Back in October, there were a lot of nervous moments and hand-wringing over the injuries that quickly piled up for Bob Bradley's squad, as uncertainty surrounded the recover prospects of DeMerit and Onyewu, not to mention Charlie Davies. Some reported that Onyewu's recovery time would see him return in the early spring, while others stated that the AC Milan defender's World Cup dreams could be in jeopardy. With DeMerit, meanwhile, there was speculation galore on how eye surgery would affect his vision and if impairment might keep him out of the World Cup squad. As a result, a sort of panic set in as the once-thought solid center back spot was now looking quite thin.

Now, however, it appears that everything is going as well as American fans could hope for. DeMerit has made a fairly seamless return to the Watford lineup, having already started several matches since his first game back in early December. It also looks as if Onyewu will have a couple months of club activity to get back into game shape, which at worst means two months of AC Milan training before international duty goes into full swing. So, at this moment, it's looking like Bob Bradley will have all of his preferred defenders to choose from come next June.

A healthy Onyewu not only adds a formidable presence in the box on both ends of the field, but also gives Bob Bradley some lineup flexibility. For starters, having Onyewu in the squad permits Bob Bradley to replicate the Confederations Cup final back line, sliding Carlos Bocanegra out to left back with a DeMerit-Onyewu partnership in the middle. Even if he chooses to keep Bocanegra central, it still gives him the ability to rest one of Bocanegra, DeMerit, or Onyewu by rotating them through the center back pairing. While Bradley may not employ either of those strategies, it is a positive that such options would exist with a healthy Oguchi Onyewu available.

And I'd be remiss if I did not give a shout-out to the men and women behind the scenes; the US Soccer medical staff deserves heaps of praise for Onyewu's smooth progress and Charlie Davies' stunningly rapid recovery. Though we hope that injuries never occur, it is a reality of the game, so it is comforting to know that our national team has a great medical staff on hand to tend to the players in the event of situations like these.