Charlie Davies left off US World Cup training camp roster; Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez picked

Davies left off US World Cup training camp roster

NEW YORK — Charlie Davies has failed in his attempt to make the U.S. World Cup team seven months after nearly being killed in a car crash.

Sidelined since the Oct. 13 accident, the forward was omitted Tuesday from the 30-man U.S. preliminary roster despite a furious effort to make a comeback.

“Thank you all for your continued support and words of encouragement,” he wrote on Twitter. “It was a very sad day for me, as well, but now focused for next season!”

The team gathers next week for training camp, and coach Bob Bradley will select his final, 23-player roster from the list before the Americans leave for South Africa on May 30.

“Charlie has shown so much heart in his work to get back from his injuries,” Bradley said in announcing his decision during a live broadcast on ESPN News. “We’ve monitored all his workouts. We’ve had people there. We’ve observed him and he remained part of the consideration right up until yesterday.”

Players will gather next week for training camp at Princeton, N.J. The Americans leave for South Africa on May 30, and open the World Cup against England on June 12.

A 23-year-old from New Hampshire and Boston College, Davies was in his first season with Sochaux in France when he was seriously hurt in a crash on the George Washington Parkway in Virginia that killed another passenger. Davies had a broken and dislocated left elbow, a broken right femur, tibia and fibula, and a broken nose, forehead and eye socket. He also was left with a ruptured bladder, and bleeding on the brain.

Still, he worked diligently in rehabilitation and expressed confidence he’d be ready for the World Cup.

“In the end of it, we also had information from his club whereby he had hadn’t been given full medical clearance and therefore was not given full release to join the camp,” Bradley said. “So when we put that together with everything we just felt that right now, Charlie, it’s in his best interest to continue his rehab and continue so that he can get back to level that he was playing last year before the accident.”

Bradley didn’t rule out a future return of Davies to the national team.

“I think that Charlie will continue to work as hard now as he’s been since the accident,” the coach said. “And that will give him a great chance to get back on the field and play at a high level.”

Two forwards came from off the radar to earn invitations to the training camp: Edson Buddle of the Los Angeles Galaxy, and Herculez Gomez of Mexico’s Puebla. Eddie Johnson also was picked for forward after scoring three goals for Aris in the Greek playoffs.

Midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, a veteran of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup teams, was selected despite not starting for Glasgow Rangers since March 9.

Houston forward Brian Ching, sidelined since a hamstring injury April 1, also was picked.

Colorado forward Conor Casey, whose two goals at Honduras clinched a World Cup berth last October, was omitted, as was Aris’ Freddy Adu.

Buddle, a 28-year-old from New York City’s Westchester suburbs, has made just one appearance for the national team, getting 11 minutes as a substitute in an exhibition seven years ago. Gomez, a 28-year-old who was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Las Vegas, played twice for the national team for a total of 67 minutes three years ago in the Copa America.

Buddle leads Major League Soccer with nine goals and Gomez became the first American to lead the Mexican league in scoring, tying for the high with 10 goals. Neither was even listed in the U.S. team’s 2010 media guide at the start of the year.

AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu and Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden also were picked. Onyewu has not played since tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee during the final World Cup qualifier on Oct. 14. Holden returned Sunday in Bolton’s season finale, his first appearance since March 3, when his right leg was broken during a challenge by the Netherlands’ Nigel de Jong during the Americans’ 2-1 exhibition loss in Amsterdam.

Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones, who obtained U.S. citizenship last year, was bypassed along with defender Edgar Castillo, who switched allegiance last year from Mexico to the U.S. Jones missed the entire Bundesliga season because of a shin injury.

The U.S. team starts practicing Monday in Princeton, N.J., where Bradley once coached, and has exhibitions against the Czech Republic on May 25 in East Hartford, Conn., and Turkey four days later in Philadelphia.

After arriving in South Africa, the U.S. has an exhibition against Australia on June 5. The Americans, trying to rebound from their first-round elimination four years ago, open with their first competitive match against England since the 1-0 U.S. upset win at the 1950 World Cup. The United States closes the first round against Slovenia on June 18 and against Algeria on June 23.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England).

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England).

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro, Sweden), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico).

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles), Brian Ching (Houston), Robbie Findley (Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico), Eddie Johnson (Aris, Greece).

AP National Writer Nancy Armour contributed to this report.