Yanks Abroad: Working for 1860 Munich After more than a year recovering from a knee injury, the American forward Bobby Wood is beginning to hit his stride in a remarkable comeback at 1860 Munich. Wood, 20, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a father who is part African-American and a mother, who came to the U.S. to attend college, part Japanese. Wood moved to California when he was 12 and developed into a star player for his youth club, the Irvine Strikers. Success at the Strikers attracted attention from the German club TSV 1860 Munich, where Wood became one of the top youth players in the club's academy. In January 2011 the striker cracked the first team's starting 11 at only 18 years old and earned minutes as a substitute. With his career about to take off, however, his future was thrown into jeopardy when he sustained a meniscus injury in his right knee while on international duty with the United States under-20 national team in March 2011. Doctors decided against surgery to allow Wood's knee to heal on its own. He returned to the field at the start of the 2011-12 season but while attending another international camp with the United States U-23 team in November 2011 he reinjured his knee. This time, however, it was far more serious. As Wood put it, "it was really bad." It was decided that surgery was necessary, and Wood's recovery since then has been long and tedious. He returned to 1860 Munich last spring, but was forced to have yet another operation in March. He was so bad that last summer he considered quitting the game. "Of course I doubted my career," Wood said. It was a really tough moment for me but I went through it. I spent time talking with my close friends and family. They were very supportive. They told me to keep my head up. It was a long road back. After discussing the matter with 1860's U-23 coach, Alex Schmidt, Wood decided to resume his career with the 2.Bundesliga club. He signed a reserve team contract in the summer and began a training regimen that included therapy on his knee. On Nov. 18, 1860 dismissed the club's head coach, Reiner Maurer, and appointed Schmidt as the interim coach of the first team. Schmidt's familiarity with Wood and the struggles of 1860's veteran forwards led to Wood's return to the first team. He made his first appearance for the club in more than a year on Nov. 24, when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 2-2 draw against Union Berlin. "Alex Schmidt stuck behind me the whole time," Wood said of his coach. Last summer, he told me to come back and he would get me back to being where I needed to be and be the player I was. He really helped me through that. He's a great coach. With the 2.Bundesliga now in winter break, Wood has now played in the last five games and has repaid Schmidt's faith in him with several strong performances including a game on Nov. 30 against Aalen where was the man of the match. In that game Wood scored his first goal for 1860 on a stunning 30-yard shot. Wood's emotional reaction revealed that the goal was a reward for the effort in his long road to recovery. "When I was injured I had a few dreams that I scored for 1860's first team but I would wake up sad and still injured," Wood said. When I was able to do that in real life, I couldn't believe it. I was extremely happy. It was an amazing feeling. I want more of that and I'm more hungry now and eager to work even harder. "I'm fit but I'm still not 100 percent," he added. I'm working on my knee every day by doing strength training and treatment. It seems to be holding up and I just have to continue it. It'll be 100 percent soon. Wood's comeback is not only welcome news for 1860 but also for the U.S. national team. Before his injury, Wood was one of the top players on the 2011 U-20 national team, which also included Josh Gatt, Juan Agudelo and Joe Gyau. That team was coached by Thomas Rongen, who still believes that Wood's injury was a significant blow to the team's effort to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Still, he is happy that Wood has recovered and believes that he could have bright future. "He's a very interesting player because he's got good size with really good technical abilities," Rongen said of Wood. He's strong. I hope he's fit because if 1860 Munich does well, he's a guy that could potentially be on Jurgen Klinsmann's radar. He needs to contribute each and every single game. For his age, he's a very talented American striker unlike what we normally see. He's a little in the Brian McBride mold, but maybe a little more athletic. Even though his last two international appearances for the United States resulted in injuries, Wood is a keen follower of the national team. He hopes to eventually get back into the picture, but for now he is focused on helping 1860 improve its sixth-place position in the 2.Bundesliga. Wood's future seems secure after he signed a new first-team contract with 1860 Munich through the end of the 2015-16 season. "It's one step at a time," Wood said. I want to repay 1860 Munich for sticking with me this whole time. I'm just going to pay my dues for now. I feel that if I concentrate on 1860 Munich and if I play well here the chances of being with the national team are higher.