American forward Charlie Davies is back in France and says he's a
month from resuming training with Sochaux following a car accident.
The 23-year-old had been rehabilitating in Delaware following
a one-vehicle accident Oct. 13 in Virginia that left him with two
broken bones in his right leg, a broken and dislocated left elbow,
a broken nose, forehead and eye socket, a fracture in his face, a
ruptured bladder and bleeding on his brain.
"I've come a long way," he said during a video interview
posted Thursday on the team's Web site. "I'd say I'm probably a
month away from being able to train with the team regularly, and
then I need a little more time to be able to get match-fit again.
So, you know, I'd say I'm not too far away from being able to play
again."
Davies, who was born in Manchester, N.H., and played for
Boston College, was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. He had
two goals in six appearances with Sochaux before the accident and
four goals in 17 appearances with the U.S. national team. The
accident has jeopardized his chance to play with the U.S. at this
year's World Cup.
Davies said he will undertake strength training and hopes to
be playing for Sochaux before the Ligue 1 season ends in May.
"I need to get my body back into shape as far as being fit
and being able to run again without being so tired," he said.
He has two titanium rods inserted in his right leg and plates
and screws in his left elbow as a result of his injuries.
Davies was a passenger in the car when the accident occurred
on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Ashley J. Roberta, 22,
of Phoenix, Md. died in the accident.
Federal court records show a U.S. Park Police detective says
the unidentified driver told police she drank alcohol before the
crash and officers smelled alcohol on her breath.
