Stuart Holden's run of bad luck somehow managed to get worse.
The US international midfielder made his long-awaited return from injury last week with club team Bolton Wanderers' U-21s, only to have it cut short when he went down to the turf clutching his knee after less than 30 minutes.
Holden walked off under his own power, but on Tuesday Bolton confirmed via their official Twitter account everyone's worst fears: Holden has suffered another ligament injury, and will spend another six-to-nine months on the mend.
This is the latest in a series of injuries going back to March of 2010, when a Nigel De Jong tackle broke Holden's leg in a friendly between the US and the Netherlands. Almost a year later, with Holden making a case for the Premiership team of the season, Manchester United defender Johnny Evans' reckless challenge fractured Holden's left femur, putting him on the sideline for six months.
Six months stretched to 16 after routine scans uncovered cartilage damage, and Holden would not return to the pitch for club or country until January of 2013.
He made his long-awaited return to the US set-up last summer in the Gold Cup, but there was to be no happy ending as the Scottish-born midfielder tore the ACL in his right knee while playing in the final vs. Panama.
Neither Bolton nor Holden have specified the exact nature of this latest injury.
