OL Reign are going to have to navigate the final weeks of the NWSL season without Tobin Heath.
The longime USWNT winger was added to the season-ending injury list by the club following knee surgery on Monday.
“Although this wasn’t an easy decision, we know this was the right decision,” Reign head coach Laura Harvey said in a club statement. “We always want to be mindful of our athletes and their health, so we wanted to be sure that Tobin will have the proper time needed to fully prepare for a successful return on the pitch. Despite missing time this season, Tobin has helped our younger players tremendously with her veteran mindset and experience.”
Impact on the Reign’s playoff hopes
Heath was overcoming an injury sustained while playing for Arsenal when she joined the Reign in June of this year, and after recovering, made five appearances as a substitute.
She scored a potentially critical goal for the club, a late winner in a 1-0 victory over Angel City FC in her second appearance, but has not played for the Reign since August 14’s 4-1 rout of Gotham FC. Heath’s last start anywhere came back on March 31, when Arsenal were eliminated by Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarterfinals.
The fact that Heath hasn’t been available very often means the Reign should be able to proceed without too much disruption. That’s no knock on Heath, but rather a testament to the fact that Harvey’s side has more depth in wide attacking positions than any team in the NWSL. Players like Tziarra King and Veronica Latsko only get sporadic starts, and a similar logjam in central midfield has allowed Harvey to move Rose Lavelle out to the right wing at times.
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