The hopes that Charlie Davies would complete a dramatic comeback for the 2010 World Cup after sustaining multiple serious injuries in a car accident in Washington D.C. in October have been dashed by FC Sochaux president Alexandre Lacombe, who told French newspaper Est Republicain the U.S. forward will not play again this season in Ligue 1.
While Davies had hoped to recover in time for Sochaux’s final two regular season matches, should it come as a surprise that he hasn’t?
In the one-car accident on George Washington Parkway on Oct. 13 that killed passenger Ashley Roberta, Davies broke his femur and tibia, dislocated his elbow, ruptured his bladder and had multiple facial fractures.
“Just to let you all know I’m progressing very well & lucky not to have had any setbacks & I’m working extremely hard every day. Believe!!!!!” said Davies via Twitter. And by all indications, his recovery has made fantastic progress.
But expecting to play in a top-tier match barely six months later — much less in a World Cup — has never been realistic. Yet U.S. Soccer, which hasn’t come nearly as close as Lacombe to ruling Davies out of South Africa, is still likely to invite him to training camp next month.
“Of course it’s a big risk to his morale if he misses the World Cup,” said Lacombe. “He’s been using the World Cup as his motivation for recovery. It’s too early to just throw him in there.”
U.S. Soccer would do well to keep that in mind.
