Three players return from injury in time for USWNT WC opener

USWNT midfielder Rose Lavelle Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Three key Americans return from injury in time for USWNT World Cup opener

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated 7/21/23

The U.S. Women's National Team has been sharing devastating World Cup injury news for months, long before the tournament officially kicked off on Thursday evening.

In the spring, the U.S. confirmed that captain Becky Sauerbrunn and leading goalscorer Mallory Pugh Swanson would miss the tournament thanks to season-ending injuries.

Mere hours before the team's opening fixture against Vietnam, the USWNT actually passed along some positive World Cup injury news.

Midfielder Julie Ertz and strikers Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe have all been declared fit to compete after last-minute scares threw their participation into question.

"Everyone on the team was healthy and available to play," head coach Vlatko Andonovski confirmed in a press conference Friday morning. "Some players are on limited minutes, but everyone, from a health perspective, from a medical perspective, is healthy."

It's great news for the USWNT. Ertz, Lavelle and Rapinoe are key players for the squad. Regular viewers will remember that the latter two scored the U.S.'s winning goals in the 2019 World Cup final.

.@roselavelle rose to the occasion with this hit.

We see you with the assist, @sammymewy pic.twitter.com/PE9h7IjbSZ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 21, 2020

Ertz, meanwhile, has returned to full fitness after the one-two punch of an MCL sprain and the recent birth of her son Madden.

"They allowed me to have my time," Ertz said of Andonovski and the USWNT coaching staff. "I was really appreciative of U.S. Soccer in general and the trust they had in me that I was making the proper decisions for my body to be able to get back."

The USWNT kicks off its World Cup title defense against Vietnam. Ertz, Lavelle and Rapinoe are unlikely to start but should all be available on Andonovski's bench.

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