U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden has torn ACL in right knee

Stuart Holden suffered an ACL tear in the United States' Gold Cup final victory.

United States midfielder Stuart Holden suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the U.S.' victory in the Gold Cup final on Sunday.

The 27-year-old, who also players midfielder for the English club Bolton, suffered the knee injury in the first half of the U.S.' 1-0 win over Panama. After the match, U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann said he feared Holden's injury was "very serious." The American has been affected by knee problems repeatedly throughout his career, making Sunday's injury that much more devastating.

After recovering from a fractured knee joint, Holden was upbeat during the USMNT's Gold Cup run, playing well and feeling even better. Holden told SI's Grant Wahl earlier this month that he had identified a new career goal:

"I want to be better than back. Even just tactically, there are things I've seen watching more soccer. In the last six months I've been learning more as a player under new coaches. I think I felt that the other night against Guatemala, coming in in the second half and having a better balance going forward and staying back. With all that combined, I'm really excited."

After learning of the injury Monday, Holden took to Twitter, showing his followers he's still as motivated as ever after the latest setback: