This is Frankie Hejduk. He is a roiling vessel of energy. He is not meant to slow down, never mind stop. Only lately, he has been short-circuited.

Hejduk, Crew captain and erstwhile right back for the U.S. national team, spent much of the spring on the sideline, and in front of his television, because of hamstring and groin injuries.

"To be honest," he said, "it's just a total buzz kill."

Three years ago, after surgery to repair a blown ACL, Hejduk rededicated himself to maximizing his potential. To that point, his career had been characterized by terrific highs as well as interludes of dormancy. The knock was that his surfer's mentality tended to skew his priorities. After knee surgery, he wanted to lead the Crew, and he wanted to play in another World Cup.

Last year, Hejduk scored the last goal of the MLS season, a header that put the finishing touch on the Crew's 3-1 championship victory over the New York Red Bulls.

This year, as World Cup qualifying got under way, Hejduk played his way back into the starting lineup for the U.S. national team. He was a demon in the 2-0 victory over Mexico in Columbus Crew Stadium on Feb. 11.

He engineered a crucial point in a hostile environment -- with an assist in the 77th minute and a goal in the 88th minute -- in a 2-2 tie in El Salvador on March 28.

At age 34, he was playing with same speed, fearlessness and joy that always marked him at his best. And then there was the hammy, then the groin.

"You lose a little piece of you when you get injured," Hejduk said. "I stay involved, joke around with the guys, try to keep them loose. But I'm wired to play, and it's hard to just watch. And I've been watching way, way too many games. A bit of darkness sets in."

The U.S. national team is in South Africa competing in the Confederations Cup, a practice tournament being staged in the venues that will be used for the 2010 World Cup. The tournament is the current focus of the soccer world. It is killing Hejduk that he is not there.

"Italy, Brazil, Spain those are the games you want to play," he said.

The U.S. looked overmatched in its ugly losses to Italy (3-1) and Brazil (3-0) last week. Then, the Americans pulled off an improbable feat by beating Egypt 3-0 and, on goals, earning a trip to the semifinals. Today, they face Spain, the best team on earth right now.

Hejduk is an ocean away, but his darkness is lifting.

"Putting on the jersey, believing in the colors, fighting for your country and for your pride as an individual player -- you could see how far that took us in the game against Egypt," he said. "If we give ourselves a chance against Spain, anything can happen. That is the beauty."

One love. One heart. Let's get together and feel all right. Yesterday at practice in Obetz, Hejduk was flying around, barking at his Crew teammates, bolting from nowhere to make slide tackles. He proclaimed himself 100 percent fit. He looked it.

The Fighting Canaries (4-3-7) have been showing signs of renewed health and potency. But although they were a dangerous come-from-behind team in their run to the MLS Cup, they haven't yet mastered how to protect a lead in their current campaign. That's the way Hejduk sees it. They'll fix it, he said. He will help.

"I'm getting my stoke back," he said.

He doesn't know whether coach Robert Warzycha will put him in the lineup Saturday, when the Red Bulls visit Crew Stadium. He doesn't know when his next chance will come with the U.S. national team. In both cases, his approach is the same: make it as hard as possible to keep him out.

The blender is ready to hum again. Push "puree" and stand back.

Michael Arace is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.

marace@dispatch.com