Clark on provisional U.S. World Cup squad

Former AFC Lightning and St. Pius X standout Ricardo Clark was selected as expected today for the initial 30-man U.S. World Cup roster by coach Bob Bradley.

Bradley must pare his final roster to 23 before embarking on South Africa. Clark recently made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga after coming over from the Houston Dynamo of MLS.

But he’s been battling injuries for most of the season, and there’s quite a bit of competition in the defensive midfield. It was Maurice Edu, the talented member of Scottish champion Glasgow Rangers, who was unable to go to the Confederations Cup last summer because of injury, paving the way for Clark to make his biggest international impression to date.

Not making the U.S. roster was forward Charlie Davies, who is recovering from a horrific car crash last summer that nearly killed him. Doctors wouldn’t clear him for action, and the only way he could play in the World Cup now is to get a special roster exemption that FIFA allows but that is rarely employed.