PRINCETON, N.J. – Defender Jay DeMerit sat out the first day of US World Cup training camp on Monday with an abdominal injury, but it’s a problem in his right eye suffered last year that could prove to be the greater nuisance going into the World Cup.
“I’m not back to full vision at the moment,” DeMerit admitted on Tuesday. “Is it going to be a 100 percent perfect? No, not at the moment. But your brain and your eyes can do amazing things when they compensate for each other.”
The central defender was a stalwart in the Confederations Cup last summer, but he suffered a bacterial infection in his right eye last September after a piece of dirt lodged into one his right contact lens.
DeMerit underwent a corneal transplant, a delicate state-of-the-art procedure in which his career and a trip to the World Cup hung in the balance.
“If I’m 15 yards away and somebody throws a ball into my feet, I can’t judge it as well as I used to,” DeMerit told The New York Times in March.
MLSsoccer.com caught up with DeMerit for an update on his eye condition on Tuesday.
“If I did an eye test I’d probably have worse vision than I used to,” he said. “But it’s still not to the point where I couldn’t play. I’ve been able to adjust, and as far as what happens on the field, it hasn’t caused me any problems.”
DeMerit is entering World Cup camp with more than an eye issue. He’s also out of contract with Watford, and he likely won’t be back to captain the second-tier English side.
“Yes, I’m out of contract and I don’t believe I’ll be going back,” DeMerit said. “I believe it’s been announced in the press this week. It’s on mutual terms.
“They’re a team that I’ve always been very accustomed to and hold very close to my heart. But at the moment it looks like they can’t offer me a new contract and because of the opportunities that are in front of me now, I’m going to try to weigh those opportunities up and see what happens.”
When pressed for details as to whether those opportunities lie in England, DeMerit had a one-word response.
“Wherever,” he said.
