Charlie Davies takes the next step in his recovery from injuries suffered in October's horrific car crash by heading back to his club in France today. The American striker noted his return on his Twitter account yesterday.


Davies' healing powers and drive continue to amaze. While Bob Bradley downplayed any expectation that Charlie could be back for the World Cup in June recently, I doubt anyone would want to bet against him at this point. American fans are certainly pulling for Charlie, both because Davies' return would be fantastic for the player as well as a boon to US chances this summer. But even if Davies comes up short in his push to be back to full strength for South Africa, his story is already an incredible one.


It's almost impossible to not think back to that fateful day in October, when news of Charlie's accident began to filter out in fits and starts. The fatal nature of the accident, the horrific photos of the vehicle involved, and the uncertainty of Davies' condition pulled the American soccer community together in a way rarely seen. The resulting show of support for Charlie, and the appropriate memorial to the young woman who lost her life in the accident, were touchstone moments in 2009. If, and it's still a large if despite his progress, Davies is on the roster in June, Charlie's story will be the most talked about thing in sports for at least a short time.

If he doesn't play in South Africa, or isn't in the squad Bob Bradley takes with him to the world's biggest sporting event, however, it should not take away from what Davies has accomplished. It's February. Davies is healed, running, and flying to France to begin the his actual return to the field. If we do what we can to maintain perspective, almost everything Davies has done to this point stretches the bounds of imagination.


Not one of you reading this would have bet even a dollar that Davies would be where he is in his recovery on February 16th. Optimism is one thing, committing to such a seemingly ridiculous idea is another.


This will be the most difficult, in a soccer sense, part of Charlie's recovery. I might not have bet on him to have made this much progress when the accident happened in October, but I definitely won't bet against him to finish his mission.


Go Charlie go.