PRINCETON, N.J. – Oguchi Onyewu sweated out the last gasps of practice largely by himself on Thursday, perhaps a fitting place for a US star who’s waged a personal battle for the last seven months.
While the rest of the US team trudged around Myslik Field on easily the hottest day yet of the group’s World Cup camp, Onyewu bared down on wind sprints, touch line to touch line in an effort to regain the form he famously lost to a knee injury last October.
The hulking US defender met the media for the first time this week following the workout, and proudly declared himself fit to anchor the group’s back as the World Cup draws closer.
“I feel really good,” said Onyewu, who suffered a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee that had put his World Cup hopes in jeopardy. “It’s been long time since I’ve been in a game situation, and I’m sure there are gonna be a little nerves for me for the first minute or two, but after that, you’re going to see the same Gooch you saw seven months ago.”
Onyewu has participated in all of the team’s workouts this week, just shy of seven months since surgery to repair the damage from a frightening knee injury put him back on the path to regaining his career.
It’s all part of the recovery process of body and mind for Onyewu, who said he’s out to prove his doubters wrong in 2010, potentially beginning with next Tuesday’s exhibition against the Czech Republic in Hartford, Conn.
“I won’t come back how I was. I’ll come back stronger,” Onyewu said. “I don’t think I’m the same player I was seven months ago, regardless of what anyone thinks.”
The knee injury—suffered during a World Cup qualifying match against Costa Rica—effectively cost Onyewu the season with club team AC Milan, and forced the discussion if the Americans’ top defensive player would be healthy for South Africa.
For his part, Onyewu said Thursday that he never let the doubts creep into his mind during extensive rehab, which included stints in Delaware, Los Angeles and Italy.
“I don’t listen to anybody, and I don’t read papers or listen to rumors,” Onyewu said. “From day one, people were like, ‘Onyewu’s gonna miss the World Cup.’ And I’d read it, and turn the page to the funnies section.
“I know who I am and I know what I’m capable of,” Onyewu added. “And no one can tell me what I’m capable of doing besides me.”
Onyewu added that although his rehab process was completed sooner than expected, he had some trepidations about his safety in the air. He was injured while coming back down from a leap during a corner kick against Costa Rica, when he said he felt his kneecap spring into his quad muscle when the tendon gave way.
“Regardless if my knee was fine or not, it was always in the back of my mind. Like, ‘do want to do it? Do I want to do it?’” Onyewu said of jumping. “The doctors kept on saying ‘you’re not going to hurt it again, it’s reinforced,’ but you always have that mindset that you could.”
With the team’s defensive group still unsettled—Onyewu admitted even he’s not sure how the lineup will pan out—all eyes will be on the tandem of either Onyewu and Jay DeMerit or Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra to anchor the center of the back four.
Onyewu said he feels no inclination to either pairing, stressing both history with Bocanegra and chemistry with DeMerit following the team’s success at last summer’s Confederations Cup.
He seems more focused on his own recovery, now back in the fold with the team and winning the war over the toughest challenge of his career.
“I’ve had time to work on a number of elements of my game that perhaps weren’t up to par,” Onyewu said. “But you’ll see it soon enough, and you can judge be on your own basis soon enough. And I’m ready for that, and the team is ready for that as well.”
