If you are a U.S. women’s national team fan, it may be time to start worrying about Rose Lavelle’s injury.
Lavelle was injured in the USWNT friendly against Ireland on April 8, and hasn’t played since.
At the time, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski called the injury “a little knock” and said of his decision to hold Lavelle out of the team’s second match against Ireland: “This is not a game for us to take any chances.”
But more than six weeks later, Lavelle has yet to return to the pitch. The full extent of the issue is not known, though OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey has confirmed it is a knee injury.
Harvey said in late April that she expected Lavelle back in “a couple more weeks” but this week, she confirmed the midfield playmaker had suffered a setback.
Head coach Laura Harvey says "it changes all the time" and right now she really has no idea if we'll see Lavelle play #NWSL before the World Cup.
The CBA releases all national team players, including #USWNT, to their federations on June 26th for the World Cup FIFA window.
— Bella Valeriano Munson (@munson_bella) May 24, 2023
Lavelle has made just two appearances for OL Reign this year, in addition to four appearances with the USWNT.
Her setback comes amid two months of difficult injury news for the USWNT, as Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario will both miss the 2023 World Cup with knee injuries. Lavelle’s own knee injury, then, will be a further headache for Andonovski as he aims to guide the U.S. to a third consecutive World Cup title.
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