United States defenders Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit and Carlos Bocanegra are all battling injury ahead of the World Cup in South Africa.
Bocanegra, the team captain, had sports hernia surgery May 5 in Germany. DeMerit also has been struggling with an abdominal strain. Onyewu hasn't played a game since last October after injuring his left knee.
The coaching staff, and the players themselves, are eager to see what level of game fitness each is at as the United States plays the Czech Republic on Tuesday and Turkey on Saturday before heading to South Africa. The Americans have a friendly against Australia on June 5, and their World Cup opener is one week later against England.
"I don't think the games are any rougher than anybody knows," Onyewu said Sunday on the final day of training camp at Princeton University. "There will be injuries; you know that leading up to this."
Bocanegra's was the most recent, and coach Bob Bradley only revealed on Saturday that the team captain had surgery two weeks ago. The central back, who turns 31 on Tuesday, hopes to be in the lineup in Hartford, Connecticut, for his birthday.
"I don't think it's a big issue," he said Sunday. "I thought it would be best to get the little procedure done as soon as possible. I was running three days after.
"It's a 15-to-20 minute procedure. There was no use to keep going and going when there was pain."
Bocanegra was hurt on March 28 while playing for Rennes of the French league. He was kicked just above the left knee, and for several days couldn't flex his leg. He compensated for the pain by putting stress on other areas of his body, and that caused abdominal problems.
He tried to play, but sat out a match on May 2 and then had the surgery after consulting with club doctors and other players - including former national team member Ante Razov - who underwent the procedure performed by Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck in Munich. She "stitches the muscles back together individually," Bocanegra said.
"Quite a few players in the American game have gone over to do this procedure," he added. "It's not a big deal. In the past few days of training, I was able to go full out."
U.S. team trainer Pierre Barrieu said "Carlos has done very well" during a week of vigorous training.
"There's no question we have a little situation at centerback with all three," Barrieu said. "Jay has progressed real well. We must remember that Gooch (Onyewu) has not played a game in seven months. We've done everything to give him the intense work volume he needs and he seems to be doing well.
"So for the center-back position, I'd say it's been a positive week."
Now comes a few days of sorting out the back line - as well as the remainder of the squad. Bradley must trim from 30 players to 23 and is hoping to announce the final squad on Wednesday.
While taking into consideration the various maladies of his defenders, Bradley must determine the value of experience, too. Bocanegra, Onyewu and Steve Cherundolo have been mainstays for the United States. Less tested on the biggest stages are Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce, Jonathan Bornstein, Jonathan Spector and Clarence Goodson. But most of them have remained healthy throughout the grind of the World Cup buildup.
"I think we have such good team chemistry," Onyewu said, "and every player has a good understanding of the capabilities of each other, whatever the combination."
That should be comforting for Bradley. It doesn't make his final decisions any easier.
