Deuce is on the comeback trail

Speaking at Fulham practice yesterday, US forward Clint Dempsey announced that he expects to be back on the field for his club team by mid-March.

He's been sidelined since injuring his right knee on Jan. 17 in a 2-0 loss to Blackburn. I remember hearing the news first and then watching the replay of the game late night on Fox Soccer Channel and to the naked, untrained eye Dempsey's injury didn't look severe at all. This wasn't Willis McGahee playing for Miami vs. Ohio State. Thankfully, the prognosis has stayed the same that it was a ACL strain and not a tear.

Dempsey had been running freely in training and also lifting weights. He was expected to begin touching a ball today.

Fulham is in its first European competition and with it's 1-1 draw at Shaktar Donetsk on Thursday, it advanced to the round of 16 in the Europa League with the 3-2 aggregate victory. This is relevant because Dempsey could get back in time for the second leg of that next round which will get him back in playing shape before U.S. training camp.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/02/25/dempsey.ap/index.html