AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu is set to make his competitive comeback next week for the USA against the Czech Republic. It's been seven months since he suffered serious knee injury.

"It's been a long time since I have been in a game situation," he told the Washington Post. "I'm sure there are going to be some nerves for me the first minute or two. After that, you are going to see the same Gooch you saw seven months ago."

Actually, Onyewu said he is a better player than he was before the setback.

"I want to show to everybody because I am sure you read blogs and you read magazine or newspaper articles and a lot of people are saying I won't come back like I was," he said. "I am going to go out there and agree with them: I won't come back like I was. I am going to come back stronger. I don't think right now I am the same player I was seven months ago, regardless of what anyone thinks, and I am going to use this year 2010 to prove that. ...

"Mentally I am a stronger player. It's not easy at all to come through it. It's painful, day in and day out. I have had time to work a lot on elements of my game that perhaps weren't up to par."