Three months after a horrible crash involving U.S. forward Charlie Davies and a driver under the influence of alcohol that left Davies injured and another passenger deceased, Davies tweeted he was to undergo elbow surgery.

Can’t wait to be able to bend my arm again! Here we go

Along with his elbow, Davies is suffering from a lacerated bladder, a broken right femur and tibia and facial fractures.

Davies has been in rehabilitation to speed up his recovery for the World Cup that starts in over 120 days. No word has been released on how the surgery went, but the U.S. forward’s chance of competing in the World Cup is most likely still out of reach.

When we last heard from Charlie Davies, the 23-year old striker for the U.S. Men's National Team, he had just survived a horrific car crash. It left the car in a tangled, twisted mess of metal, and left Davies with a broken right femur and tibia, a broken left elbow, facial fractures and a lacerated bladder. Lucky just to be alive, Davies was facing a 6-to-12 month rehabilitation process, and the near certainty that his dream of playing in the 2010 World Cup was lost. But now, four months after the accident, Davies is already jogging and performing agility drills and is "light years" ahead of where the team's trainer expected he would be at this point. 

Amazingly, playing in this summer's World Cup is once again a very real possibility. 

Just how amazing? The multiple broken bones in his leg, face and elbow have healed. So has a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and he has recovered from bladder surgery, which left a foot-long scar on his stomach. He has regained the 15 pounds he lost after enduring six surgeries following the crash, and is days away from undergoing his final surgery associated with the accident, a procedure to remove a bone, plate and screws from his left elbow. After a week to recover from that surgery, Davies expects to be back training with Sochaux by the end of February.

If Davies stays on this rapid recovery schedule, he could rejoin his club team FC Sochaux by April, which means Davies could very well be in South Africa with the USMNT. But just being there won't be enough. 

"The World Cup is easy for me to be back for," said Davies. "I want to get back to France, and I don't want to just get back -- I want to be good.

"I don't want to be that guy just to make the [World Cup] team and just sit there. I want to be back and starting and scoring, playing well and doing the things I know I can do.

"People haven't seen the progress I've made, and maybe they don't know the kind of person I am and the motivation and new appreciation for being able to play that I have."

Not only is Davies' miraculous recovery amazing news for him and his family, but it also comes as some much needed good news for a U.S. Men's National Team that already has Oguchi Onyewu and Clint Dempsey rehabbing their own injuries. 

A U.S. Park Police detective wrote in the court papers that the driver told police that she drank alcohol before the crash and officers smelled alcohol on her breath. The driver, Davies and Roberta were last seen about an hour before the accident at a D.C. establishment that serves alcohol, the detective added.

Detectives describe the accident as being caused by distraction. The unnamed driver said she was adjusting her GPS unit when one of the passengers screamed, causing the driver to swerve right and strike the guard rail.

Davies has already began rehabilitation and told ESPN that he is hopeful of playing in the 2010 World Cup. He is recovering from two fractures in his right leg and a badly injured bladder.

The U.S. striker who was badly injured in a fatal car accident last week has been moved out of the intensive care unit at the Washington Hospital Center, according to Soccer By Ives.

Although there is more surgery to come for Davies:

Davies is still recovering from the multiple injuries suffered during a deadly car crash last week, but has been strong enough to receive and speak to guests and is set to undergo another surgery on his broken left elbow. He still may require operations for facial fractures.

Daily Soccer Fix takes the time to remind everyone that no matter famous Charlie Davies is, no matter how many goals he's scored or caps he's recorded, yesterday, he was just one of us.

Today, Charlie Davies is just a human being like any of us, doing what some of us sometimes must: negotiating an overwhelming cascade of fears, thoughts and emotions. 

Today Davies lies in ICU with a mangled leg, terrible internal injuries, various other physical ailments and a career that may be in tatters.  And then there’s an impending emotional undertow that, God willing, few of us will ever deal with.

He was in car with someone who died. No matter what the circumstances – and I’m sure we’ll know more later – it must be a terrible burden. 

So today, Charlie Davies is a man whose future is cloudy. What he’ll be doing for work in 12 or 24 months, he can only hope for and guess about right now.

In his case, there's an extra layer of tangled introspection ahead: I'm sure that he's happy to be alive, but his head is surely spinning with those difficult questions, something along the lines of "Why her and not me?"

Pro athletes live an entirely different existence, indeed – most of the time. There are times, clearly, when they aren’t so unlike the rest of us, men brought to our knees, at the mercy of our doubts, regrets and fears.

A pretty somber and sobering reminder of just how quickly a life can be changed.

While there’s still no word as to a timetable for his recovery, Charlie Davies’ family spoke out and expressed gratitude for the support their son has received from fans across the country. Here’s their official statement:

“The tremendous support the family has received is of great comfort and much appreciated at this difficult time. Our thoughts also go out to the families and friends of those involved in the accident. We would also like to thank all the staff at Washington Hospital Center in Washington D.C. and the staff at the United States Soccer Federation for all their tremendous efforts. Charlie is in a serious but stable condition and is resting after extensive surgery. If you would like to send any messages of support to Charlie we have set up an e-mail account at CharlieDavies9@yahoo.com. Thank you again and we will keep you informed when possible as Charlie continues his recovery.”

Sam’s Army, the U.S. Soccer fan club that organized the Charlie Davies support effort tonight, can be proud of their work: That tribute was pretty fitting.

Basically every U.S. fan, at least those that made their way onto ESPN’s broadcast, had the requisite No. 9 paper sign at the 9th minute. After full-time, the U.S. gathered and held up a No. 9 Davies banner. It was an impressive display.

In the meantime, after Costa Rica jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, the U.S. men fought back in the second half — including a stoppage-time goal by Jonathan Borstein — to net a 2-2 tie in a game they probably had no business winning. In soccer, ties like that are considered wins, and given that the U.S. will end qualifying at the top of the CONCACAF standings, they can officially consider the night a success.

SI’s Grant Wahl brings a bit more positive news on Davies’ condition:

At RFK for US-CR. Davies update: Described as being “responsive” (handsqueezes), still serious but stable cond. Wore seatbelt, in back seat.

News of a tribute to Charlie Davies during tonight’s match against Costa Rica has been circling around the web since late last night, but Washington Post’s Soccer Insider blog has the details … and the print-out.

Fans who are attending the game are being asked to print this out and hold it up during the entire ninth-minute of the match (which starts at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2).

The idea for the print-outs was formulated by the Baltimore Brigade, a group of US soccer supporters.

Grant Wahl confirms Charlie Davies’ injuries:

USSF on Charlie Davies: fractures to right tibia/femur, left elbow, facial fractures. Lacerated bladder.

Turns out that's not all, though. From Wahl's Twitter page:

Davies hospitalized at least 1 week. Added surgery will be required for left elbow, possibly facial fractures.

USSF: Titanium rods inserted in Charlie Davies' right femur/tibia.

USSF doc: Davies' injuries usually require 6-12 months recovery & long rehab. Due to CD fitness, chance to play hi level again improved.

Considering the seriousness of the crash -- the post-crash images are terrifying -- that's a pretty solid prognosis for Davies. Not only is he not at serious long-term health risk, but his soccer career isn't necessarily over, either, two positives to end an otherwise very negative day.

We haven’t seen this information anywhere else yet, and various other reporters (namely Grant Wahl, who’s as close to the U.S. Men’s National team as anyone) have yet to confirm these injuries, but here’s a report from a D.C.-area 5-o-clock news broadcast claiming Davies has a broken femur and tibula. Make of it what you will. (Though, if you ask us, most hospitals wouldn't claim their patient was in "serious" condition if his biggest problems were broken bones. But then again, we're not doctors.)

According to Grant Wahl, Davies was a passenger in the car:

Confirmed: Charlie Davies was a passenger in car. Woman who died, Ashley Roberta, also a passenger. Hope to learn more about driver.

From Grant Wahl:

More specifics on Charlie Davies expected after 9 pm ET. Family set to land from CA by that time. Davies was out after U.S. curfew.

That curfew touch is troubling, but we’ll wait for those details before we speculate even a little bit.

Washington Hospital Center Medstar is listing Davies in “serious condition” following lengthy surgery this afternoon. What does “serious” mean? Below are the American Medical Association’s standard conditions, listed from least serious to most:

Undetermined: Patient awaiting physician and assessment.

Good: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and comfortable. Indicators are excellent.

Fair: Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious, but may be uncomfortable. Indicators are favorable.

Serious: Vital signs may be unstable and not within normal limits. Patient is acutely ill. Indicators are questionable.

Critical: Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may be unconscious. Indicators are unfavorable.

A hospital spokeswoman said Davies’s injuries were not life-threatening, and didn’t know how they would affect Davies’s playing career.

SI’s Grant Wahl is in touch with the Davies family and is reporting that Charlie is out of surgery. There’s still no word on Davies’s injuries; the hospital has yet to issue a report, and though Charlie’s mother told Wahl what she thought the surgeries were for, Wahl isn’t willing to report the third-hand info. More to come, we’re sure.

Steven Goff of the Washington Post’s Soccer Insider reports that Charlie Davies suffered a broken leg and internal injuries during this morning’s catastrophic car accident.

We’ll have more information as it becomes available.

Washington Post’s Soccer Insider Steven Goff says that a USSF spokesman called the injuries sustained by Davies “possibly” career-threatening. Although that may have gone without saying just by taking one look at the images of the car he was occupying.

Grant Wahl tweets:

Davies still in surgery for up to 90 more minutes, in stable condition. No other U.S. players involved in accident.

From the Washington Post's Soccer Insider:

Charlie Davies in surgery after car wreck on GW Parkway. Not life threatening. Fatality involved in accident.

Match Fit USA has done some connecting of the dots and found that there was a fatal accident on the Parkway this morning. The WTOP article about said accident mentions no names, although it is the only report of a fatal car crash in that area this morning, so 1+1, etc.

More from the WTOP article:

Accident reconstruction near Boundary Channel Drive kept the parkway closed after the 3:15 a.m. accident.

The impact of the single-vehicle accident sheered the car in half, reports WTOP's Kristi King from the scene.

One person is dead. Two others are in serious condition.

U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser says the preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle lost control. The car struck the metal railing that goes across the bridge.

Yes: The impact tore the car into two pieces. Here's the back half:

We'll have more as we learn about Davies' injuries and condition.