The announcement that Landon Donovan will return to competitive soccer at the end of March comes as little surprise: Bruce Arena had already told the world that the long-time U.S. national teamer was definitely set to return to action at some point this spring after a self-imposed four-month hiatus since helping the LA Galaxy defend their MLS title last fall.

That timing works just fine for the Galaxy. With the exception of a pair of March CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal matches in which they'll be favored over Costa Rican side Herediano with or without Donovan, the calendar for the MLS side doesn't really ramp up until mid-summer.

Donovan should be back in form well before then.

But what this return storyline has lacked is the heavy relevancy to the U.S. national team -- a group that of late needs Donovan more than the MLS-champion Galaxy does.