Here’s some unwanted news: Jay DeMerit blinded himself with a contact lens. Yep. That’s right. A contact lens.

From Soccernet:

The 29-year-old U.S. defender accidentally cut his eye a couple of weeks ago as he took the lens out at the team hotel, and it has since become infected.

“It was a freak thing,” DeMerit told the Daily Mail. “It got worse and worse and I still can’t see out of that eye.

“Scar tissue is starting to develop, which is blurring my vision, so I’m seeing a specialist and I might have to have surgery.”

Well that’s just peachy. Obviously since seeing a specialist (”seeing” probably wasn’t the best word to use, Jay), there’s no timetable for his return, but this doesn’t sound promising for the upcoming qualifiers on October 10th (Honduras) and 14th (Costa Rica). Guess we’ll have to wait and…see.

Meanwhile, Mo Edu is making headlines in Scotland for banging a hot Rangers TV host and then never calling her again.

Great week for yanks abroad, huh?

Is Freddy being told the truth or is he already falling into the same trap he did with Benfica and Monaco?

To be perfectly honest, if I were him I would probably be buying a gun right now.

UPDATE: Freddy actually got some playing time, making his debut for Belenenses as a sub in a league cup match. From Tribal:

The 20-year old, who is on loan from Benfica, was subbed on in the 64th minute but was unable to influence his team to a win as they went down 1-0 to Rio Ave in the Group E clash.

Adu performed well on the left of midfield, creating chances for teammates and showing Belenenses manager Joao Carlos Pereira what he is capable of.

Well, that’s a step.

Well, The Adu finally got his move — a one-year loan keeping him within Portugal at Belenenses (that’s going to be fun to spell all season). So, it’s a same league, new team, better situation(?) scenario for Freddy that really should work out for him. But, of course, that’s what we thought about Monaco, too. For his sake I hope it works out, because he might go postal if it doesn’t, and I’m not familiar with Portuguese laws.

The other recently announced move sees (only slightly more) peripheral US MNT forward Chris Rolfe going from the Chicago Fire to Danish club AaB Aalborg next January. Rolfe is 26 and has 10 caps with the nat team, but could moving to Europe, especially a league known for its developmental qualities like the Danish Superliga, bring something extra out of him and make him a threat to, say, an inexplicable new regular like Conor Casey? Or will Bob Bradley quickly erase all memory of Rolfe now that he no longer plays in the MLS? Hope for the former, but expect the latter.

Perhaps the most interesting deadline shuffling related to a Yank abroad is the addition of free agent Jan Vennegoor. Bottom line here: they now have a buttload of strikers. The talented 30-year-old Vennegoor adds to the already dense group that includes Daniel Cousin, Caleb Folan, another recent acquisition in Kamel Ghilas, and, of course, Jozy. Playing time could be tight, but Jozy should be able to prove himself worthy among that bunch. The only thing is that any slip in form could put him in a treacherous hole.

So there you go. Oh, and we’ve got a World Cup Qualifier this weekend, too. That’ll be fun. More there later…

(One more thing: Go read this post by Ty Duffy right now. Seriously, do it.)

Forget about that nonsense in Spain last season — the lack of playing time with Villarreal, the loan to Xerez, the injury, and the subsequent iffy form with the US MNT — everything is finally falling into place for Jozy Altidore. He’s in the Premier League, with a club that needs him, and after a brief delay getting a work permit, Jozy made an immediate impact with Hull, setting up the only goal in their match against Bolton just a minute after being subbed in. And the English press have been quick to recognize his efforts. Here are some headlines:

DREAM DEBUT FOR THE TIGERS’ NEW AMERICAN IDOL ALTIDORE [Sunday Express]

Hull City 1 Bolton 0: Altidore the new star in stripes as Tigers claim vital victory [Daily Mail]

Altidore ready to unleash anger on top flight rivals [Sport Hull]

Flu-hit Jozy’s back in the pig time! [People]

Jozy Altidore year-long loan deal with Hull City was announced today and aside from the excitement over him now being in the Premier League, it sounds like he’s finally found a European club that’s willing to give him a chance on the pitch. Says manager Phil Brown:

“Jozy is unproven at this level but we feel he has great potential and hopefully he can fill the void with goals from the front line. He is only 19 and we want to help him fulfil his potential here.”

Sounds good to me. And Jozy agrees:

He looks good in the rossoneri.

Here’s a good article about the deal and a few words from Gooch on the US MNT’s newfound domestic fame. [Canadian Press]

Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley, all decked out in their patriotic gear, attempted to celebrate Rangers’ Scottish Premier League championship on Sunday, but were met with some resistance by the stewards at Ibrox. I think they were mostly worried that fragile DMB would be instantly injured if he got any closer to the overexcited masses.

Mo played the full 90 minutes in Rangers’ 3-0 win over Dundee, capping off a nice run of nine straight starts (over which he scored two goals) to end the season.

Congrats to both of them on the silverware and doing the national team proud.

No doubt about it, this has been a frustrating season for both Freddy Adu and all US soccer fans attempting to collectively will him to great success. Monaco took him on a loan deal for seemingly no reason other than to keep their bench warm (he has only been a substitute in nine Ligue 1 games) and every official word from Freddy was upbeat and highlighting the positives of working with the coaches and enjoying his surroundings.

But with newly created “FreddyAdu11” Twitter account, it appears Freddy — if it really is, in fact, The Adu himself — is leaking the honest truth 140 characters at a time (in addition to questioning whether he should date Lindsey Lohan and getting hyped over Eminem’s new album).

Adu was available for Monaco’s game against Valenciennes on Saturday and did go unused as the match ended in a 1-1 draw with his team using only two of their substitutions, so the tweet above does make realistic sense — even if the club’s decision behind it doesn’t.

Assuming this is the real deal, it seems Freddy is tired of the games — and lack thereof — Monaco has played with him this year. Seems he’s ready for a new club that will Respect The Adu.

But luckily his future still looks bright. Says Renken:

“My doctor ([U.S. national team physician Dr. Bert Mandelbaum] says that my surgery was perfect and I honestly feel fantastic. Before the operation, I thought there was no way I could be back for the world championships [in October], but my doctor says I am responding so well that it is possible.”

And Dr. Mandelbaum echoed that sentiment:

“Charles’ surgery went extremely well and he has responded even better than I could have hoped for. Charles is a great kid and I am very confident that he will be back playing soccer in six months, and that he will excel.”

And while that’s all fine and good, what’s most interesting is just how much buzz this kid has — not only here in the States, but with the giants of Europe, as well:

Virtually every English Premier League team — from Manchester United to Liverpool — has shown some interest in Renken. He has already worked out for Arsenal and Reading and, in Germany, 1860 Munich and Bayern Munich. Renken and U-17 teammate, striker Joseph-Claude Gyau, practiced with Bayern Munich just this past January.

Rodriguez also says that Renken already has an endorsement deal with Nike and is likely to sign with a professional club with a year. Fantastic. Before long, he’ll be rotting on a European bench like the rest of our Next Great American players.

Clint Dempsey pulled a deuce in Fulham’s 3-1 win over Manchester City today, giving him seven goals since December 20 and 12 on the season. If only he could start scoring with that kind of regularity for the US MNT…