The U.S. women’s national team has received more terrible news on the injury front.
USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn announced that she will not be a part of the team’s 2023 World Cup roster due to a foot injury.
“Heartbroken isn’t even the half of it,” wrote Sauerbrunn in a post on social media Friday night. “But that’s sports for you and that’s life, really.”
The Athletic first reported that Sauerbrunn would not be on a fourth consecutive World Cup squad, with the 38-year-old confirming the news with further detail on Friday night.
“I had hoped and worked and hoped some more to make it back in time to help lead the team at this World Cup, but after lots of discussion, unfortunately, there’s just too much variability in my return to play timeline.”
— Becky Sauerbrunn (@beckysauerbrunn) June 17, 2023
“It’s been an honor to work and play alongside this incredible group of athletes,” added Sauerbrunn, lending her backing to a team she has captained for years.
“They have my unwavering support. And, more importantly, they have my unyielding belief. This program has always been about the collective and I have no doubt that the players on the final roster have everything they need—in their feet, their heads and their hearts—to bring our fifth trophy home.”
“To my teammates, I love you. Please, take a minute to enjoy this moment and appreciate everything that brought you here—every second of hard work and every bit of good luck—and then get back to work and go win the whole f—ing thing!”
April foot injury keeps Sauerbrunn out
Sauerbrunn started the first four games of the Portland Thorns’ NWSL regular season, but took herself out of a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville in the 57th minute with an apparent foot issue.
Sauerbrunn battled the injury for over a month before coming off of Portland’s availability report ahead of their June 3 clash with OL Reign. The center back entered that game in the 67th minute and played through full time, but was back on the availability report for last weekend’s matches.
Sauerbrunn is not the only key USWNT player set to miss the tournament. Catarina Macario previously confirmed that her recovery timeline from a torn ACL will run too long for her to be in contention for a spot on Vlatko Andonovski’s final 23-player roster. Mallory Swanson never publicly conceded that a torn patellar tendon suffered in April would keep her out of this World Cup, but her injury is generally one that carries a multi-month rehab process.
Meanwhile, Christen Press recently kept the door open to a return and has progressed enough from her own torn ACL to strike a ball, but a call-up without a single second of competitive play since her injury seems highly unlikely at this stage.
Andonovski has other possible worries as well. Rose Lavelle suffered what was supposedly “a little knock” during an April friendly against the Republic of Ireland, but since then has yet to play for the Reign or USWNT.
Megan Rapinoe departed the Reign’s most recent match with an apparent calf issue, though in her case head coach Laura Harvey said the choice was precautionary specifically due to the looming World Cup.
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