U.S. women’s national team star Mallory Swanson has suffered a torn patella tendon in her left knee, U.S. Soccer announced on Sunday.
The injury will almost certainly rule Swanson out for the World Cup. Per the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: “Complete recovery takes about six months. Many patients report that they required 12 months before they reached all of their goals.”
The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is set to begin in three months.
The news is devastating and not surprising after seeing how serious the injury looked when Swanson was stretchered off the pitch in Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win over Ireland.
The Chicago Red Stars attacker was caught by a late challenge from Ireland defender Aoife Mannion and had to go straight to the hospital from Q2 Stadium in Austin.
Angel City FC rookie Alyssa Thompson has been named as Swanson’s replacement on the USWNT roster ahead of Tuesday’s second match against Ireland.
Though the USWNT has plenty of depth at its attacking positions, the loss of the in-form Swanson is a brutal blow. Swanson has scored seven goals in six national team games in 2023, and was a NWSL MVP finalist with the Red Stars in 2022.
Thompson, Trinity Rodman and Lynn Williams will be immediate candidates to step into Swanson’s starting role.
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