Even before Clint Dempsey plopped to the ground Sunday the United States was already nearing The Tipping Point.

Charlie Davies is recovering from a shattered leg; Oguchi Onyewu is trying to rush back from a patellar tendon rapture (his knee is fucked up); Jermaine Jones might never recover from his broken leg; Jozy Altidore can't score a goal in the English Premier League; Carlos Bocanegra is stuck on the Stade Rennes' bench; DaMarcus Beasley started playing well for the first time in years before tearing his hamstring.

Morning all, hope your weekend was quite fine. The top of the table is as tight as ever. United beat Fulham quite convincingly yesterday to go top but with some very interesting fixtures still to come that could easily change.

It was interesting watching Match of the Day the other night and the way they looked at certain incidents in the Hull game.

It was a remarkable attempt for Charlie Davies to come back from a litany of injuries suffered in an October car accident.

He's rehabbed, training and done everything humanly possible to get back on the field in time for June's World Cup, but according to his club team, he's set to miss out on the trip to South Africa.

U.S. international forward Clint Dempsey has seen his dream of playing in the 2010 World Cup put in danger after suffering an apparently serious knee injury in the second half of Fulham's 2-0 loss to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday. Following the match, Fulham manager Roy Hodgson sounded grim on the prospects of a quick return for Dempsey.

Manchester City's Nigel De Jong committed another horror tackle in the Premier League Sunday. This time against Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa. The tackle resulted in a broken leg and definitely dashes Newcastle's chances for the next few months.

What is it about the Premier League where we see so many horrible tackles and broken bones?

U.S. international midfielder Stuart Holden is nearing a return for Bolton Wanderers after missing more than a month with a broken leg, BBC Sport reports. The former Houston Dynamo star suffered a fractured fibula while playing for his country in a 2-1 exhibition loss to the Netherlands back on March 3rd, but expects to resume full training in about two weeks.

Stuart Holden appeared for Bolton as a second half substitute on Sunday, marking the midfielder's return from injury after a broken leg. Holden entered the game in the 70th minute for Bolton and helped his club preserve a 2-1 win against Birmingham on the final day of the season. The former Houston Dynamo player has been out since March after he sustained a broken leg in the USA's game against the Netherlands on March 3.

Bolton Wanderers boss Owen Coyle is keen to keep U.S. international Stuart Holden with the club and has offered him a one-year extension, according to a report in the Bolton News. The Scotland-born midfielder left Major League Soccer behind for the English Premier League this past January, impressing Bolton officials with his skills despite being sidelined for more than two months with a leg injury.

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I know in my last blog I said I would sway around the Tackling issue but enough is enough. So much has happened in the last few days and some of it has been over the top.

Sam Allardyce, Owen Coyle, Harry Redknapp and even Steve Bruce have criticized Mr Wenger on his comments about referees.

Karl Henry did Wolves and Mick McCarthy no favors on Saturday when his late tackle on Jordi Gomez resulted in a straight red card and left Wolverhampton Wanderers with ten men.

In the video of the tackle (see above), you can see how Henry's hit sent the Spaniard flying into the air.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

German-born midfielder Jermaine Jones will have to wait a while longer to make his U.S. national team debut.

Jones is skipping next week's USA-Brazil friendly after initially accepting the invitation.

Arsenal's newly-signed Japanese youngster Ryo Miyachi shows his technical ability in the video below.

The teenager, who was also said to be on the radars of European giants AC Milan and Ajax, will sign for the Gunners after his contract with Chukyo High School expires at the end of September.

Things were looking bleek for the U.S. national team on the injury front as recently as a month ago. Between Charlie Davies' uncertain future and the knee injuries to Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu, the U.S. squad had three of its marquee players facing uncertain recovery timetables while others, such as Ricardo Clark and Benny Feilhaber, were also injured.

Wayne Rooney's on crutches and Cesc Fabregas has a broken leg.

Without kicking a ball, Chelsea has received an Easter basket full of good news in its quest to dethrone Manchester United this week when the two most important players on its two biggest rivals went down with injuries in mid-week Champions League action.

Nigel De Jong is considered one of the best defensive players in all of the English Premier League, but should the Dutch midfielder also be considered one of the dirtiest footballers in the world?

In the last six or seven months the young Manchester City defensive midfielder has made three or four devastating tackles that resulted in an opposing player seriously injured or at least at serious risk of a potential injury.

Antonio Valencia is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering from a broken leg and dislocated ankle in Manchester United's weak 0-0 Champions League draw today against Rangers. The 8.2M rated fantasy prospect scored 5 goals last ... Continue reading →

Stuart Holden has been rewarded for his hard work. He overcame a broken leg and started all of Bolton Wanderer's six league games this season. The team is giving him a contract extension that will see him through to the end of the 2012-13 season.

The Scottish born USA international has adjusted well to EPL life.

Less than 3 minutes into the game, Man City midfielder Nigel De Jong made an extremely rash challenge on Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa that left the on-loan Marseille winger with a broken leg. X-rays showed a broken tibia and fibula and the midfielder will have surgery Monday morning.

Nigel De...Wrong. Do Players Need More Protection? is a post from: Just Football

Hatem Ben Arfa has become the latest in what is becoming a long line of players to sustain a broken leg in football from a dangerous tackle. The fact that the referee didn't even award a free kick has however made this incident different from the others.

By Chris Wright

Pies bought you positive news of Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey's recovery from his horrific broken leg yesterday, and here is the actual video (courtesy of Arsenal TV) from which the quotes were taken which features footage of the Welsh wunderkind doing really good kicks 'n' junk.

Early morning odds on a broken leg low only due to the bravery of Murphy and Wenger.

Blood and Thunder. Pride and Passion. Commitment. Reducer, let him know you are there early doors. He's not that kind of player.

These platitudes and their ilk, spouted by the supporters of the perpetrators of some of the nastiest and horrific injury causing tackles seen in recent years, have gone a long way towards the recent stream of mangled limbs that have littered this wonderful new Premiership season.

The Arsenal and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey may have spent nine months recovering from the broken leg sustained by that famous challenge by Ryan Shawcross, but he now believes that his rehabilitation is nearly complete. Arsene Wenger surprisingly allowed him to go out on loan to Championship side Nottingham Forest after playing just 45 minutes for [.

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen suffered a suspected broken leg during the goalless draw at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday.The 24-year-old Belgiium international, who has made a huge impact at the Emirates after his move from Ajax Amsterdam last year, limped off after 35 minutes."His leg is numb, it might be a nerve, or it might be a fracture of the fibula, we hope not, but we

1. Opposition
Arsenal away this week, as we attempt to keep our cumulative concessions against a member of the top three to less than five goals.
The Gunners appear to be coming into form at just the right time. They have weathered a few storms this season, most notably the lengthy absence of Robin van Persie; as well as a merry-go-round of goalkeepers, the audible groans from Sol Campbell's knees and the traditional broken leg inflicted by the proletariat.

U.S. international midfielder Stuart Holden announced this afternoon that he has signed a contract to endorse Nike and the LIVESTRONG brand.
"I've worn Nike gear as a member of the US National Team and Nike boots when I played at Clemson," said Holden. "Nike is a brand that I admire and I'm impressed with the technology of all of their products.

The U.S. men's national team moved a few steps closer to being a fully healthy group as recent word out of Europe revealed that injured midfielder Stuart Holden and defender Oguchi Onyewu have resumed full training with their club teams.

Holden, sidelined since suffering a broken leg in the U.

Two months after suffering a broken leg, budding U.S. international prospect Stuart Holden has revealed that he is once again fit to take the field. The former Houston Dynamo playmaker could see action in Bolton Wanderers' final game of the Premier League season on Sunday against Birmingham, provided he gets through training this week without issue.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
While only months ago rumors of Thierry Henry coming to the league were a pipedream, some say he has already worked his way out of his FC Barcelona contract and is in talks with Red Bull New York. Stories of his coming have been drifting around the fanshpere for years but have always been grouped with those of Ronaldinho, Raul, and Kaka as impossible fantasies.

By FRANCO PANIZO

In the final weekend of club action for several Americans Abroad, there was plenty of good news that should add some more intrigue as Bob Bradley prepares to make his selections for the U.S.'s preliminary World Cup roster.

Stuart Holden played in his first match since suffering a broken leg in early March, coming off the bench in Bolton Wanderers' 2-1 win against Birmingham.

USA's midfielder Stuart Holden is now back after being sidelined from a broken leg to suit up for Bolton, with fellow USA national team defender Oguchi Onyewu still on the bench.

Holden made his first appearance after being subbed into the Bolton v Birmingham match. Onyewu on the other hand did not dress after making the trip to Genoa with his Serie A club AC Milan.

German football player Michael Ballack sunbathed poolside while recovering from a broken leg. Michael's wife, Simone Ballack spent some time on the beach sunbathing and swimming before joining her husband by the pool. Photo copyright by Fame Pictures ...

A theme running thru all the Arsenal blogs in recent weeks has been a resigned, and perhaps a somewhat cynical, expectation that Cesc will eventually leave the Gunners for his Catalonian "home" club.

I am not so sure. One thing the World Cup will have shown him is that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

The transfer of the Arsenal striker Eduardo to Shakhtar Donetsk still hasn't been formally announced by the Arsenal website, but it is now common knowledge. The Croatian striker has been a shadow of his former self since he returned from his broken leg, but after passing a rigorous medical, Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu is hopeful [.

photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Clarence Goodson may become the next American Abroad to find a new club this summer, and Denmark could be his destination.

Goodson is currently being targeted by Odense BK, which is reportedly in negotiations with his current club, IK Start.

"These figures are stupid," Fabio Capello once said after being asked what formation England were playing after a qualifying game. "In the modern game, the only formation is 9-1." Of course, that is all nonsense. Nonsense, unless you're Rangers however. At times, they reverted to the old 'park the bus' system where they constantly put blue shirts into their own box.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

In a very short time, Stuart Holden has made a very strong impression with his Premier League club.

Holden signed a three-year extension with Bolton on Thursday that will keep him in England at least through the 2012-2013 season.

Good news today that Newcastle United new play-maker Hatem Ben Arfa has come through a successful operation on the broken leg he suffered in the club's defeat to Manchester City yesterday. Ben Arfa successful operation today in Manchester This is what has been put up on Newcastle's official web site: ============ Following Hatem Ben [.

You all remember the picture above right? How about the tackle on Stuart Holden that left him out for weeks? Well Nigel De Jong has quickly become the Dennis Rodman of soccer. This time he took it too far again with a tackle on Newcastle United's Ben Arfa.

In response, Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk dropped Nigel de Jong from the Dutch squad on Monday after the midfielder's tackle in a Premier League game left Hatem Ben Arfa with a broken leg.

Nigel de Jong's handiwork
Netherlands head coach Bert van Marwijk has dropped Nigel de Jong from his roster for upcoming Euro qualifying over the 25 year-old midfielder's chronic rough play. The latest broken leg left in de Jong's wake belongs to Newcastle forward Hartem Ben Arfa, and van Marwijk's decision comes as a direct response.

Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton has admitted that losing the services of thriving French winger Hatem Ben Arfa is a huge disappointment for everyone at the club.

However, he also added that Ben Arfa's teammates are now moving forward with the hope that after a successful operation to his broken leg on Monday, the on-loan Marseille star will link up with them as soon as possible.