Galaxy’s Landon Donovan missing from national team camp

Galaxy defenders Omar Gonzalez and A.J. De La Garza were among 25 players called into this week’s training camp for the U.S. soccer team, but Galaxy captain Landon Donovan was not on the list, making it unlikely the national team’s all-time leading scorer will play in the opening match of the final round of World Cup qualifying next month in Honduras.

Also invited to camp at the Home Depot Center in Carson was Chivas USA striker Juan Agudelo and former Galaxy forward Edson Buddle, who was traded to the Colorado Rapids last month.

Meanwhile Donovan, who hasn’t played for the U.S. since August, continues to contemplate his future. After helping the Galaxy win its second consecutive Major League Soccer title in December’s MLS Cup final, Donovan said he was physically and mentally exhausted and needed a break. U.S. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Sunday that figured in his decision not to call Donovan into his team’s three-week camp.

“Landon has not been invited because obviously he is taking his break,” Klinsmann said on Fox TV on Sunday. “He’s thinking about his future. We stayed in touch after the MLS Cup Final and he’s not at a point yet where he knows what he wants to do.

“It’s simple as that. That’s why we didn’t invite Landon. We are as curious as anybody else what his decision will be in the future, but right now he is not part of our camp.”

The Galaxy will convene for its preseason training camp later this month, and Donovan, who is expected to visit with survivors of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., on Monday, has not publicly said whether he’ll report to the opening workouts.

Of the 25 players Klinsmann called up Sunday, 21 play in MLS, including league scoring leader Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes. European-based players, such as U.S. team mainstays Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard, could be called up to next month’s qualifiers because, unlike Donovan, they’re fit and in midseason form.

The team:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)

DEFENDERS (9): Steven Beitashour (San Jose Earthquakes), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), A.J. DeLaGarza (Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (Galaxy), Connor Lade (New York Red Bulls), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes), Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (out of contract), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS (5): Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Edson Buddle (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

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