US defender Oguchi Onyewu sidelined 3-4 months with torn knee tendon

Onyewu out 3-4 months with torn knee tendon

WASHINGTON — U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu has a torn tendon in his left knee, an injury that usually requires a recovery time of three-to-four months.

The AC Milan defender fell down on the slick turf of RFK Stadium during the 83rd minute of Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier and left the field on a stretcher.

Onyewu’s injury came a day after teammate Charlie Davies was seriously injured in a car crash. Davies is unlikely to play in next year’s World Cup.

“We’ve had two days of tough news,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “Gooch has been a such an important part of our team.”

Onyewu was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon. However, Bradley expressed confidence he would recover in time for the World Cup.

“He’s young, he’s healthy, our doctors are good,” Bradley said. “He’s someone that we’re sure is going to get back and be ready to go.”

AC Milan said it had been informed of the injury by the American federation, and that if further tests in the United States confirm the initial prognosis, Onyewu will be operated on.

Milan said club physician Massimo Manara was “in constant contact” with Onyewu and coach Leonardo and several teammates called to offer encouragement.

Milan CEO Adriano Galliani was upset by the news.

“I’m very angry because once again the national teams take players and we lose out due to injuries,” Galliani told Gazzetta dello Sport. “This is a problem that needs to be resolved. We at Milan are expecting compensation from the American federation. We can’t pay a player who can’t play for six months.”

A 6-foot-4 defender from Olney, Md., Onyewu left Belgium’s Standard Liege after last season and signed a three-year contract in July with AC Milan.

The 27-year-old has appeared in just one of the club’s 10 competitive matches this season, making his official debut as a 60th-minute substitute in the 1-0 Champions League loss to Zurich on Sept. 30.

Because the U.S. had used its three substitutes, Onyewu could not be replaced after the injury. Still, the United States gained the draw when Jonathan Bornstein headed in a corner kick in the fifth minute of stopped time.

AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome and AP freelance writer Daimon Eklund in Washington contributed to this report.