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Kyle Beckerman and Tony Beltran have returned to camp from U.S. National Team duty today, Real Salt Lake media services manager Sam Stejskal reported today. Ned Grabavoy, whose wife gave birth to twins, returned as well after an absence of several days.
Beckerman, Beltran and Grabavoy all back in training for #RSL today. twitter.com/samstejskal/st...
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) February 3, 2013
The return to camp means Beckerman won't be traveling to Miami to join up with the national team in advance of a World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday against Honduras, despite the captain's fine performance in the match.
With a slew of defensive midfielders on hand, it would seem that U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann has deemed the inclusion of his January camp captain as unnecessary. He hasn't been involved in a qualifying match for the U.S. since the team suffered a 2-1 loss in Jamaica.
The defensive midfield depth on hand allowing Klinsmann to continue with his preferred two-defensive-midfield setup, especially as higher-rated midfielders Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Maurice Edu and Danny Williams are all available.
Still, while Beckerman is a capable player for the U.S., his arrival in Real Salt Lake's preseason adds some much-needed leadership and veteran understanding as new blood is worked into the system.
In unrelated news, the club announced that former LA Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders is on trial with the club during preseason. It seems unlikely that Saunders would sign with the club, but stranger things certainly have happened.