Mallory Swanson on Tuesday confirmed that she had undergone knee surgery.
The U.S. women’s national team star was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon after a collision with Ireland defender Aoife Mannion eventually saw her stretchered off in Saturday’s 2-0 win.
Neither Swanson nor U.S. Soccer has provided a recovery timeline just yet. Patellar tendon tears tend to come with a roughly six-month rehab course, which would rule Swanson out of the 2023 World Cup.
In a post on her Instagram account, Swanson gave the latest update on her condition.
“This is hard. I’m in shock and don’t have much to say other than, thank you to everyone for the messages,” wrote Swanson. “I feel the love and prayers, and holding them close to my heart.
“Surgery this morning was a success. I’m thankful for my trainers, doctors, coaches, and teammates for their help throughout this process. The beauty out of all of this, is that God is always good. He’s got me and always has.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq6C4XHu57I/?hl=en
A successful surgical procedure was the best news Swanson, the USWNT, and the Chicago Red Stars could have hoped for given the difficult circumstances.
However, as USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters on Monday, there is no direct way to replace a player who had stepped on the pitch at Austin’s Q2 Stadium as the team’s most in-form goalscorer. Swanson scored at least one goal in each of the previous six USWNT matches, a spell which included a match-winner against Germany and braces against both New Zealand and Canada.
[lawrence-related id=17176,17156,17104]