After a litany of injuries over several years put his playing career in jeopardy, Stuart Holden is finally returning to the field.
Holden, who was last capped for the US national team in 2013 amid a string of serious knee injuries, has joined the USMNT training camp currently underway in Carson, California.
According to a report from ESPNFC, USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann invited the 30-year-old to the camp that began Monday and is scheduled to run through the first week of February.
The former Houston Dynamo star has not been named to the squad that will play in friendlies against Iceland on Jan. 31 and Canada on Feb. 5.
Holden’s first career setback came in 2011 when he was playing for Bolton Wanderers against Manchester United; he fractured the femur in his left knee and was sidelined for the better part of a year.
He returned to form in 2013, but tore his right ACL with the USMNT in the Gold Cup. In his return match with Bolton’s reserve squad in 2014, he re-injured his knee, with manager Dougie Freedman saying, “Unfortunately, Stuart’s knee has gone.”
Despite those setbacks, and a blossoming career as a broadcaster for ESPN and FOX Sports, Stuart continued to train in an effort to return to the pitch. This winter he trained in California with a group of MLS players that included Benny Feilhaber and Dom Dwyer of Sporting Kansas City, the New York Red Bulls' Sacha Kljestan, Servando Carrasco of Orlando City, the LA Galaxy's AJ DeLaGarza, Hector Jimenez of the Columbus Crew, and D.C. United's Steve Birnbaum.
