U.S. Defender Oguchi 'Gooch' Onyewu Resumes Training After Missing Six Months With Knee Injury

According to his twitter page, American defender Oguchi Onyewu has been cleared to resume normal training with his club team,  AC Milan:

The kid is back!!!! Normal training from here on out, no restrictions.... 

Onyewu tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in the US national team's final World Cup Qualifying game against Costa Rica in Washington DC in October.  He will return to an AC Milan team that has been ravaged by injuries to their defense.  

From Goal.com:

Milan coach Leonardo started rightback Massimo Oddo in the heart of defense against Palermo last weekend with a slate of injuries decimating his roster's depth at that position. Alessandro Nesta, Kakha Kaladze, and Giuseppe Favalli all missed out with injury and Daniele Bonera was suspended. The situation was so dire, Milan even approached retired Paolo Maldini, 41, about donning his boots once again. 

While Onyewu should be ready for the World Cup, it is unknown whether he will see any action in the remaining weeks of the Serie A season as he races to regain full fitness. Nonetheless, it is great news for the Americans that the hulking 6'4" defender has begun training at full speed.  

The final 30-man roster for the World Cup will be named on May 11.  

More bad news for U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu. Originally, reports had him missing 3-4 months after he tore his patellar tendon against Costa Rica, but following today's surgery, it's expected he'll be out for six months.

Gooch had one-hour surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles for a torn patella tendon in his left knee, suffered in the World Cup qualifying finale against Costa Rica last week at RFK Stadium. The damage wasn't any worse than expected, but the updated timetable will keep him out of action until probably April, just two months before the start of the World Cup.

He will begin rehabbing immediately.

SBN’s resident soccer experts, Daily Soccer Fix, reacted to the news of yet another hit to U.S. soccer:

Oguchi Onyewu’s injury misfortune has served to expose another leak on the Good Ship U.S. Soccer, a boat that was already taking on some water.

The United States hasn’t exactly been blessed without outstanding center backs of late. But the team has been solid there, at least, with Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit. So, maybe the garage wasn’t full of a bunch of showy BMWs, but rather with good, solid transportation. Plus, with Chad Marshall deputizing, having played so big in the Gold Cup and perhaps closing in on a second consecutive MLS Defender of the Year, there was pretty fair cover as well.

But given the injuries to Onyewu and DeMerit, if the World Cup were today Marshall would probably be a starter, with U.S. manager Bob Bradley reaching deep into the pool for reserve center backs. Jimmy Conrad, who hasn’t had the best of season at Kansas City and who had slipped from sight recently in the selection pool, might suddenly be one injury or card away from starting. […]

Drilling down a little further into this situation, this is another worrying development where World Cup prospects are concerned. Yes, DeMerit and Onyewu are likely to be fit, but their form can certainly be wondered about.

Despite the grim news, however, at least U.S. soccer fans can take heart: the World Cup is about 8 months away, and that should give Gooch more than enough time to recover and get back on the field.