US midfielder Catarina Macario withdrew from the Women’s World Cup this summer on Tuesday, saying she had not fully recovered from a serious knee injury last year.
“While I am very enthusiastic and very optimistic about my future as a football player, I am sad to announce that I will not be physically ready to be part of the American selection at the World Cup” which takes place from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand, she explained on social networks.
“My desire to return to play for my country has pushed my preparation and fueled my daily life. But the most important thing right now is my psychological health and my return to form for my next season at the club, ”added the player from Lyon (French D1).
Macario, 23 and born in Brazil, was injured on June 1, 2022 during the Lyon team’s last French championship match. Victim of a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, she had been operated on a few days later, before a six-month recovery period.
Catarina Macario had so far been a major player in the Lyon season, scoring 23 league goals with the key to a fifteenth national title for the club which had also won the Champions League.
