USWNT forward Macario will miss World Cup with knee injury

It’s a major blow for the USWNT and the 23-year-old star

U.S. women’s national team forward Catarina Macario has announced she’ll miss the 2023 World Cup amid an ongoing recovery from an ACL tear.

Macario suffered the injury in June 2022 during Lyon’s final match of the season, and she has not returned to the pitch since.

With just two months remaining until the World Cup, the 23-year-old posted on social media that she is not sufficiently recovered yet to take part in the tournament.

“While I’m excited and super optimistic about my future as a footballer, I’m sad to share that I won’t be physically ready for selection to our U.S. World Cup team,” she said on Tuesday.

“The desire to return to play for my club and country has driven my training and fueled my everyday life. However, what’s most important right now is my health and getting fit and ready for my next club season.

“I am eternally grateful to Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital for always supporting me and guiding me in my rehab, and to U.S. Soccer and [head coach] Vlatko Andonovski for prioritizing my long-term health over any individual and collective ambitions.

“I’ll be cheering hard for my teammates at the World Cup, and I look forward to dedicating myself to fight to earn a spot for what I hope will be a long future on the U.S. national team.”

A difficult recovery

Macario initially seemed like she’d have enough time to recover for the World Cup, with her injury coming 13 months before the tournament in Australia and New Zealand kicked off.

That idea was bolstered by Andonovski in February, as the USWNT boss said he was expecting to see Macario back on the field for Lyon in March.

But Macario’s recovery did not go according to plan from that point on, and Andonovski admitted in April that he wasn’t sure whether Macario would be fit for the World Cup.

Losing Macario is a big blow to a USWNT team that will already be without another of its top attacking players in Mallory Swanson.

Macario, who was born in Brazil and moved to the U.S. at age 12, debuted with the USWNT in 2021. She then starred for the team in 2022 playing as a false nine, scoring five goals in five appearances last year before her injury.

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