Reyna speaks of road to recovery
The US captain has been selected for the international friendly against Wales next Monday, and although he is not pencilled in to play in the match, the call-up has proved to be a milestone in his rehabilitation.
Reyna tore his ACL in Sunderland's match against Bolton on October 28 last year, which proved to be a serious blow in what was the club's unsuccessful battle against relegation from The Premiership.
"I knew right away that I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)," said Reyna to ussoccer.com. "I think in this little ACL Club that you join, people seem to say the same thing, that once it happens you know that it's something serious.
"It was a movement that I do, and that I've done a million times over my career, but for whatever reason, my ACL went this time. It happened all by myself, and it was pretty painful. I knew that I would be out for a while. I just didn't know how long.
"The first thing that went through my mind was hoping that it wasn't anything worse. I've seen so many of my friends and other players come back from an ACL, so it wasn't like I thought it would be a career-ending thing.
"Right away I thought 'Okay, if it's this one, than it's my turn to deal with a long-term injury'. I've been pretty lucky over my career to have only had some minor injuries here and there.
"This is my first major injury, so it was a matter of how to quickly get over the disappointment and start with the rehab process, sorting everything out about surgeries and all that.
"I quickly spoke to US national team doctor Bert Mandelbaum, and he really put me at ease right away when I spoke to him, telling me about the procedure and everything that was going to happen.
"I got calls from lots of family and friends, team-mates, and other players who have had their ACL done. I had a lot of support quickly and it helped me."
Now the influential captain is back in training, and will be in the US camp in San Jose to help his rehabilitation continue to what is hoped to be his comeback matches, in the Confederations Cup in France.
"I've been training on the field for the last couple weeks. I've had limited contact, but really almost 100 percent," he added.
"I'm getting that final confidence of being back on the field and trying to play like I was before without any worries of my knee.
"I'm happy to be a part of this camp, to get around the team and all the players that I haven't seen for a while. Of course, through the summer it's going to be kind of like a pre-season for me.
"Essentially the month or so leading up to my surgery was my off-season and now I have to really put in some work this summer to make sure I'm ready for next season.
"I'm 29-years-old, so I have a lot of great years ahead of me. Everyone's been telling me to make sure that I take my time and do it right, and I have been."
