We're Not Out of the Injury Woods Yet

Over the past couple of weeks, it's been hard not to get caught up in the wave of optimism regarding USMNT injuries.  Benny Feilhaber is back, Stuart Holden is walking without crutches, Gooch is stating on Twitter that he'll be returning to training in the "very near future", and, of course, Charlie Davies continues to blow our minds with his unfathomably rapid recovery.  With all of those positive developments, it's hard not to entertain thoughts that, with everyone healthy, we will in fact have our ideal roster in South Africa.  But last night we were dealt a rude reminder that we're still far from the finish line.

For those who missed it, Houston Dynamo striker Brian Ching went down in the first half of last night's match against Real Salt Lake with a hamstring strain, immediately indicating that he needed a substitute and some help while lying face-first in the Robertson Stadium turf.  While we are still waiting on some tests and what not to determine the true severity of the injury, Ching didn't seem too optimistic, saying through a representative:

"I felt a pretty strong pull in the left hamstring...Now it’s going to be a number of weeks before I’m back on the field again." 

While it may be hard for a player to gauge how long an injury will keep him sidelined just a little over an hour after it was suffered, Ching's statement hardly has any optimism in it.  Maybe it was fueled by some frustration after his injury issues last year, or maybe it was partly due to worries that his World Cup dreams were now over; regardless of the emotions behind it, the fact remains that Ching will only be watching games during the critical stretch run of the cycle, and his injury could have significant ramifications for Bob Bradley and the national team.

There are more than a few of you out there who just don't rate Ching at all, so this development isn't exactly seen as a noteworthy blow to the USMNT.  But, I hate to break it to you, a target striker is coming to South Africa whether you like it or not.  Bradley utilized that role in the 2007 Gold Cup, the 2009 Confederations Cup, and all rounds of World Cup qualification with a good deal of success; there's no reason to think that he's going to abandon that now.  (Ching or Casey started 7 of 10 Hex games, just to add some statistical support to my statement, as well as substitute appearances in another Hex game and 4 of 5 Confederations Cup games.)

With that being said, Ching is the best option at Bradley's disposal, and he showed exactly that last February in the friendly against El Salvador.  With Conor Casey being really the only other realistic option with experience (sorry to all you nostalgic folks, but no Brian McBride), Bradley doesn't exactly have a wealth of options to choose from to fill that role should Ching's injury seriously impact his World Cup status.  And save for that bizarre aberration of a clutch performance down in San Pedro Sula last October, Casey has done very little in his time with the USMNT to instill any kind of confidence that he is an adequate substitute.  Ching's game is ugly, but it serves its purpose both offensively and defensively, something I can't say with the same confidence about Casey.  

So let's recap: Ching's hurt.  Bradley will most likely bring a target forward.  Casey would be the replacement.  Ching is better than Casey.  Hence, direct USMNT implications.

Of course, all of this could be moot if Ching joins the rest of his USMNT teammates by making a quick recovery, which is what I'm really hoping for.  The point I want to make is that we're not out of the woods yet; I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but with a month and a half of club play left ahead of international duty, there's still a lot that could happen.  The football gods are fickle, and injuries this late in the cycle could substantially impact the USMNT's World Cup campaign.  All of the roster predictions and proposed lineups, not to mention Bob Bradley's actual plans, would go out the window if a key player or two go down (and you know you've thought about this with regards to a certain extremely key player, whose name I won't mention for fear of jinxing it).  It'd be ideal to maximize ability and flexibility in the 23 man World Cup roster, and every single injury will hamper those efforts to an extent, whether it's a role playing target forward, a backup defender, or a consistent starter.

Hopefully Ching is at least ready to go by the time international duty rolls around.  Regardless, his injury has been a big buzzkill in a time filled with nothing but wonderful injury news for the Yanks.  The closer we get to June, the less time there is to bounce back from any knocks that come along and the more delicate our roster situation becomes.

So go sacrifice a goat or something like that; we can't afford any more injury scares like this.