Officially official: Stu Holden called up to United States camp

We knew it was coming. Jurgen Klinsmann said as much just a few weeks ago when he made it clear that Stu Holden would be included in the United States Mens National Team's camp ahead of this summer's international friendlies (vs a full-strength Belgium and reserve-ish Germany), Gold Cup competition, and Hexagonal qualifiers (vs Jamaica, Honduras, and Panama).

"We've been in touch with Stuart throughout this whole injury period.

"The last couple of months have given us a lot of positive signals. I spoke to his coach at Bolton, and spoke to his coach at Sheffield Wednesday where he played some very important minutes and games while on loan. He's on his way back.

"That being said, we want to have him back in our picture. We are going to bring him for the May-June camp, and also for the Gold Cup."

Holden, who had not started a match for Bolton following a return from long-term injury and then again after a successful loan at Sheffield Wednesday, will be taking the next major step in his recovery. When the American midfielder spoke to us a few weeks ago, he said that he was feeling 100% and that the last thing he wanted was a summer break.

The Gold Cup tournament begins in early July and the United States will open their run on 9 July against Belize in Portland. The other two teams in the USMNT's group are Costa Rica and Cuba. For that tournament, the US will field what is essentially a B-team full of fringe players, young guns, and those coming back from injury. The team will most likely feature a very heavy Major League Soccer contingent.

The full camp squad for the friendlies against Belgium & Germany and the World Cup qualifiers against Jamaica, Panama, and Honduras is as follows:

Goalkeepers:

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders:

DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg)

Midfielders:

Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards:

Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC)