Due to an ankle injury, San Diego Waves forward Alex Morgan will not play against Bay FC on Saturday in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the team’s head coach Casey Stoney announced on Thursday. “She’s got an ankle injury and she’s out for this weekend, and then it’ll be week by week from there,” Stoney stated. Last Friday, in the closing moments of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride, Morgan was hurt.
In a goal-mouth scramble, she fought for a loose ball, tumbled awkwardly into the net, rolled around, and grabbed her left ankle. Eventually, she got to her feet and slowly walked off the field.
Less than a hundred days before the 2024 Olympics, the injury happened. Morgan hopes to compete in her fourth Games for the US women’s national team this summer. Morgan turns 35 before the Olympics.
Prior to the competition, Morgan was added to the USWNT roster as an injury replacement after being left off of the Concacaf W Gold Cup roster earlier in the year.
She has since returned to her previous position as the USWNT’s favorite center forward, which she has largely held for more than ten years. She has started each of the team’s last five games as they have won the SheBelieves Cup and the Gold Cup. For the USWNT, Morgan has scored 123 goals in her career.
The next USWNT practice is scheduled for late May, in advance of two friendlies against South Korea in June. These will be Emma Hayes’ first games as head coach of the USWNT.
Morgan has appeared in each of the San Diego Wave’s four regular season games thus far this year, recording one assist. Her first 2024 club goal occurred on March 15 in the NWSL Challenge Cup, which the Wave won 1-0 thanks to her goal in the 88th minute.
Morgan joined the Wave as an expansion side in 2022, and he has been a key member ever since. Her best ever season at the club level, she played in 17 games and finished with 15 goals and 2 assists. She contributed five assists and seven goals to the Wave’s 2017 NWSL Shield victory as the top team during the regular season.
