US soccer news - national team injuries, CBA and MLS off-season moves

The US Injury List Grows

With the World Cup just four months away, the men's national team injury crisis is mounting. Despite the news that Oguchi Onyewu and, in a major shock, Charlie Davies are making a mockery of their recovery timetables, two more starters succumbed to serious injuries in the past month. While right back Steve Cherundolo looks likely to have plenty of time to recover, it is the potential loss of Clint Dempsey, arguably the most in-form national team player for his club team in recent months, that has to be causing worries for Bob Bradley. The relief amongst fans was palpable when it was first announced that Dempsey would be able to suit up for Fulham again ahead of the summer's big dance, but how quickly will he return to the field, and how long will it take him to find his form again?

This month also saw Ricardo Clark join the recovering Maurice Edu and Jermaine Jones (will he ever be healthy enough to get a cap?) on the central midfield scrap-heap, though his return is likely to happen within weeks. Keeping his Rangers teammate Edu company on the shelf was Damarcus Beasley, whose brief renaissance was brought to a crashing halt in just a few weeks before his car was blown up to quite literally add insult to injury. Also on the short term injury list is fringe midfielder Jose Francisco Torres, whose chances to impress Bradley will narrow if he cannot return to action before next month's friendlies. 

Between Davies, Onyewu, Cherundolo, and Dempsey, we're now missing a third of Bob's first-choice lineup. With Clark being a starter more often than not of late, you could argue that nearly half of the eleven you'd pick to run out against England on June 12 are currently out of action. Clark and Cherundolo are the only ones you could safely assume will be fit and playing regularly by the time we commence hostilities in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Back in MLS

Major League Soccer's Collective Bargaining Agreement was set to expire at the end of January, but both sides agreed to extend the deadline to February 12. We're in full-on cloak and dagger mode as far as negotiations are concerned, but the signs seem to be much more positive than they were a month ago, when we were looking at possible lock-outs and a delayed start to the season. For now, at least, it looks like a resolution is on the horizon.

Elsewhere in the domestic first division, we're in the usual state of off-season roster flux. Some guys moved abroad, some returned. While the likes of Clark and Stuart Holden packed their bags for destinations abroad, others stepped back into the domestic frame, though the balance in the Scandanavian exchange seems to be in favor of MLS this time around with the high(ish) profile returns of Troy Perkins and Danny Califf. 

Where the tune gets a little different is the addition of Mexico to the mix. Hercules Gomez and Paulo Nagamura found their way south of the 2-0 divide, but the traffic wasn't all one-way as Michael Orozco moved north to join the nascent Philadelphia Union, reuniting with his 2008 Beijing Olympics boss, Piotr Nowak.

What's Ahead?

Obviously, the biggest story will be the CBA. Can the players and league reach a happy compromise before the next deadline passes? We'll know within days. But there's an interesting part of this tale that may not be immediately obvious. I didn't mention it above, but another big story this monty was the success Landon Donovan is experiencing on loan with Everton. He stated when he left that he intended to return to the Galaxy, but I wonder how he feels now? And if talks break down over the CBA with a World Cup looming on the horizon...?

I'm sure we'll also see some moves on the MLS roster front as pre-season progresses. But other than the odd swap or acquisition and the occasional pre-season tournament, I think everyone in US soccer circles will be keeping their eyes particularly peeled for news about the progress of our injured national team players.

Get well, guys.