Klinsmann: Doubtful Donovan in US plans

All-time US scoring leader Landon Donovan remains respected by US coach Jurgen Klinsmann and in the Americans plans for 2014 World Cup qualifying, the German football legend said on Thursday. A day after Donovan told ESPN he was uncertain if he was still wanted around Klinsmann’s squad after knee injuries kept him out of World Cup qualifiers in September and October, Klinsmann made it clear the striker is very much wanted. “He’s always in our plans, absolutely,” Klinsmann said in a teleconference. “I find it really courageous of him to talk openly in public about what goes through his mind.” Donovan told ESPN he might need a break from football after the ongoing Major League Soccer playoffs due to physical and mental exhaustion and wondered if people thought he might have faked injuries to escape national team play. “When you’re a guy who’s never been hurt for the most part and then all of a sudden you have all these injuries, I think people start to question it,” Donovan told ESPN.