Angel City head coach Freya Coombe believes Julie Ertz will be fit for the World Cup after the midfielder missed her team’s past two games with a thigh injury.
In her team’s most recent match, a 4-1 loss to OL Reign on Saturday, Ertz did not participate in warm-ups, indicating she likely had no chance of playing despite being in the matchday squad.
Time is of the essence for the 31-year-old, who is aiming to make the U.S. women’s national team World Cup squad after only recently returning from nearly two years away from the game.
Ertz has played just three times for Angel City after she signed in April, most recently appearing on May 13 in a loss to the Washington Spirit.
With less than a month until the USWNT World Cup roster is announced, Coombe said she is still confident that Ertz will be fit enough for selection.
“She will get there,” Coombe told the Los Angeles Times. “There’s one thing that I’ve learned about [in] my short time working with her is just her mentality. I think her mentality is such that she will absolutely get there.”
“I was surprised at the level that she came in at — in a good way,” Coombe added. “I do think that there’s another level for her to go in terms of her match fitness and just being to be up to speed with the games. There’s more room for her to go and then getting to that fifth gear.”
After Ertz was recalled to the USWNT in March, head coach Vlatko Andonovski cautioned that she wouldn’t be able to simply walk into her previous role as the team’s unquestioned starter at holding midfielder.
“Nothing is going to be given,” said Andonovski. “I also have to say, we’ve been very pleased with Andi Sullivan and her progression, so Julie coming in doesn’t mean that everyone moves on the side and Julie gets into that spot. I said earlier, she needs to come in, she needs to prove herself.”
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