Striker looks to crack national team camp
U.S. forward Charlie Davies returned to full practice with French club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on Monday, six and a half months after suffering multiple serious injuries in a car crash on George Washington Parkway.
“I’ve resumed full training with my club!!” Davies tweeted Monday. “It’s about time & it feels great! My speed is getting there too! Today was a good day! God Bless.”
Sochaux has three games remaining in the current Ligue 1 season. Davies, 23, hopes to prove that he still deserves an invitation to the U.S. national team pre-World Cup training camp, which begins May 17 at Princeton. The U.S. begins play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa against England on June 12.
The former Boston College standout had emerged as one of the U.S. team’s top striking hopes last year before the one-car accident on October 13 that killed passenger Ashley Roberta and left Davies with a broken femur and tibia, a dislocated elbow, ruptured bladder, multiple facial fractures and bleeding on the brain. The driver escaped with minor injuries, and the accident remains under investigation by the U.S. Park Police.
Sochaux president Alexandre Lacombe said Friday that Davies would not play in any of his club’s three remaining regular season matches. Even though Davies was using the World Cup as his motivation to return from his injuries, Lacombe said, “It’s too early to just throw him in there.”
