Altidore Resomes Light Training, Status Remains Unclear For England

Jozy Altidore is back to running sprints, his main activity during a light work-out on Sunday.

The U.S. striker is recovering from an ankle injury suffered in training on Thursday. That injury kept the starting forward out of the Australia match, and although resuming some normal activities appears to be a positive step in Altidore’s progress, U.S. Soccer continues to be evasive with information on the 20-year-old’s prognosis:

It’s hard to know how banged up the 20-year-old forward is: U.S. Soccer didn’t make Altidore available to reporters.

While coach Bob Bradley left training without speaking to the media, he responded to questions in an e-mail through spokesman Michael Kammarman.

“Jozy has been able to add to his workload every day, which has been positive,” Bradley said. “We are pleased with his progress and will continue to move him forward. The team has a day off tomorrow, so we have another opportunity to work with him individually and gauge his status for training.”

Should Altidore be ready, it is assumed he will start on Saturday against England. If he is not, Edson Buddle appears set to start as the U.S. number nine, with recent performances by the Galaxy striker begging questions as to whether he would not be a better option even if Altidore returns to health.

Though Altidore saw some light criticism from those who covered the U.S. friendly against Turkey, Altidore performed well, and in undressing Servet Cetin in the second half (creating a scoring chance for Clint Dempsey), Altidore showed ability beyond the other U.S. striking options.

Buddle, however, has out-performed Altidore during his time in the squad. His first audition came against the Czech Republic, where forty-five minutes of good play saw him win one of the open forward spots in the squad. On Saturday, Buddle opened the scoring against Australia with a 20 yard blast from inside the arc past Mark Schwarzer. Later, Buddle scored on a well-taken header at the end of a Steve Cherundolo cross, his brace leading the U.S. to a 3-1 victory over the Socceroos.

Buddle seems aware that he is giving Bob Bradley another option, calling himself a good kind of headache. Though it seems unlikely that Bradley would overlook a healthy Altidore, Buddle has made himself an intriguing alternative.