USWNT star Catarina Macario suffered a torn ACL last week while playing for her club team Lyon in France. The entire community sends best wishes for her recovery.
— Catarina Macario (@catarinamacario) June 5, 2022
In a message to fans, Macario focuses on the positives. Using a hopeful tone, she outlines how proud she is of her team this season and embraces the recovery process. She plans to return better than ever.
Lyon is no stranger to a torn ACL. Club teammate Ellie Carpenter tore her ACL in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final match. Striker Ada Hegerberg returned from her ACL recovery this season. Together with Macario, she lead the Lyon attack to win the Champion’s League and French League titles.
The USWNT also knows ACL tears all too well back in the states. Starting center back Tierna Davidson suffered a torn ACL earlier this season playing for the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL Challenge Cup. With injuries piling up for the USWNT and a World Cup in 2023, let’s break down Macario’s injury timeline and impact.
On average, a torn ACL sidelines an athlete for 8-12 months. Due to setbacks, Hegerberg missed more than 20 months. After about nine months, Racing Louisville FC forward Nadia Nadim recently returned from her ACL tear.
Nadia Nadim is back on the field, 266 days after tearing her ACL. #NWSL
— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) June 5, 2022
At the earliest, Macario cannot be expected to see the field till March 2023. When that happens, USWNT Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski will want to give her club minutes first. If he brings her into USWNT camps too early, the overuse of dual club and international duty could exacerbate her injury. The 2023 World Cup kicks off in mid-July. The window to re-incorporate her into the team is tight but achievable.
In the meantime, the USWNT needs options moving forward. The CONCACAF W Championship, which serves as the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympic qualifiers, kicks off in less than a month.
Recently, Macario occupies the “false nine” position as a withdrawn central striker. She serves as a multi-threat attacker with the ability to score anywhere in and around the box. Her distribution and ability to draw in defenders allows wider players like Mal Pugh and Sophia Smith to isolate on the dribble. No other player in the world does what Macario does as well as she does.
However, someone has to play the role. If Andonovski wants to keep the system the same, his best bet would be to insert an attacking-minded midfielder and play with four midfielders. Ideal players for this option include Rose Lavelle and Ashley Sanchez.
More likely, Andonovski will opt for a traditional central striker. While this changes the shape and system, he was always going to use this as a mid-game alteration depending on the matchup. On the most recent USWNT roster, Ashley Hatch is the obvious option. Midge Purce also played as a central striker some back in Portland. Macario’s torn ACL opens up the door for the return of Alex Morgan or Christen Press. Morgan currently leads the NWSL in scoring with 8 goals in 7 matches.
Whatever Andonovski decides, it must be quick. The decision likely already happened. According to the regulations, teams must provide a provisional roster of up to 60 players no later than 30 days before the competition. With kick-off on July 4th, the 30-day window has already passed. The provisional roster narrows to 23 players no later than ten days prior to kick-off. Due to Macario’s torn ACL, she is clearly unavailable for selection. However, it still promises to be an excellent tournament.
From all of us at Beyond Women’s Sports, we wish Catarina Macario all the best on her road to recovery. You can find Beyond Women’s Sports online or on Twitter for more news and analysis. You can also follow the author on Twitter.
