Landon Donovan To Return Early To LA Galaxy

Landon Donovan was set to make his return to the LA Galaxy after the Merseyside Derby on Feb 25th, missing the Desert Diamond Cup. However, Bruce Arena told reporters today that Donovan will be returning this weekend. The Galaxy travel to Arizona for the Desert Diamond Cup on Tuesday.

"Donovan comes back Sunday," Arena said. "He will be with us for a bit in Tucson before he heads out with the national team."

The Merseyside Derby was scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN2, the first Everton game scheduled for ESPN broadcast since Donovan arrived in Liverpool. However, Liverpool have qualified for the League Cup final at Wembley on Feb 26th, which caused the cancellation of the Merseyside Derby.

The Desert Diamond Cup will see the LA Galaxy play the New England Revolution (Feb 22), Real Salt Lake (Feb 25), and New York (Feb 29).

Landon Donovan will play in one, possibly two of those games, but the United States National Team has a game against Italy February 29th. Players are supposed to be released from their teams for two days before the match, but it's possible Donovan will only play in the first match.