Two players the United States desperately missed at the 2023 Women’s World Cup are back in the national team camp, with Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario both returning for the SheBelieves Cup after lengthy recoveries.
Swanson suffered a torn patella tendon on April 8, 2023 during a national team match against the Republic of Ireland in Austin, Texas. Macario tore her ACL on June 1, 2022 while playing for her now former club, Lyon. Macario’s last appearance for the USWNT came in a friendly match against Uzbekistan on April 12, 2022 in Chester, Pennsylvania.
“I think the first thing that comes to mind is just being grateful,” Swanson said of her return. “One thing I learned throughout my injury is that you can never take life for granted. You can’t take your health for granted.
Both players ended up missing the World Cup. Their absences were a major blow to the USWNT’s chances, as they both played vital roles in the starting lineup, and their return could be key to the USWNT’s Olympic hopes.
Swanson said there was a point after her first surgery when she thought she might still return in time for the World Cup. “I remember texting my surgeon and asking him, ‘How long is this recovery,’ and he was like, ‘Six months,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, I can do four.’ I’m going to do it,” she said.
But, as she revealed on The women’s match podcast in February, she suffered a septic infection in her knee after the first operation and had to undergo a second surgery to clear the infection.
Mal Swanson tells @sammymewy how his devastating injury just months before last year’s World Cup was far worse than anyone thought.
🎧 An all-new episode of The Women’s Game with Mal Swanson is available now wherever you get your pods. pic.twitter.com/hb4RmqhO9C
– Women’s Game (@WomensGameMIB) February 1, 2024
“And I think that’s what really slowed me down,” she said. “And looking back, I’m very grateful for how it all worked out because in the end, I learned a lot about life. I’ve never experienced anything like what I experienced and I think it gave me time to evaluate myself, to evaluate my life, and also to step back and appreciate, honestly, to be with my husband in Chicago.
Meanwhile, Macario was in rehab in London during the World Cup and said it was difficult to watch the tournament. But it was also a sunny summer in town, which helped.
“(The sun) really helped me feel a little bit at home in San Diego or Brazil,” she said. “I just tried to focus on the little things that I could control, and obviously it took a lot longer than I expected, which was devastating. But the most important thing is that now I am back and I hope I can contribute as much as possible to the team before the Olympics and this tournament as well. I just feel like I’ve been very, very lucky to have all the people around me who showed me so much support and love and didn’t feel rushed to come back.
“Even though I could have already had two children,” Macario added with a laugh.
The USWNT will face Japan on Saturday, April 6 in the nation’s first of two matches in the truncated SheBelieves Cup. Before joining the USWNT in training, Swanson and Macario returned to play for their respective clubs and appeared to be in good shape. Swanson played a full 90 minutes for the Chicago Red Stars last weekend, scoring a goal against the Orlando Pride. Macario has been building up her minutes for Chelsea since returning to action on March 3 as a substitute against Leicester City, a match in which she also scored a goal.
She is baaaacckkkk!!!!! @MalPugh is on the scoresheet for Chicago! ⚽️
🎥 » @NWSL
pic.twitter.com/LisVrZK40a– United States Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) March 30, 2024
Being able to get back into the rhythm of matches with their clubs was a matter of communication between them, their clubs and US Soccer, and good timing. Macario, of course, can go directly to future US head coach Emma Hayes at Chelsea for feedback, but said she ultimately left it to the experts.
“I know Chelsea and US Soccer come together all the time and just try to find the right way to manage me to allow me to be in this environment as long as possible,” she said. “Since I’ve been gone for so long, there are some things we need to take into consideration.”
Swanson, who also played more than 80 minutes in two NWSL games before last weekend, made no secret that it was a grueling transition.
“I was like, ‘Welcome! “I had forgotten how hard it was to play 90 minutes,” she said. “I think with US Soccer and then with the Red Stars and talking with (the head coach) Lorne (Donaldson), I think the timing worked out pretty well, being able to use the preseason and these preseason games as games that I can build minutes into. .”
SheBelieves will be the final games under interim head coach Twila Kilgore. Emma Hayes will arrive in June for two friendlies against South Korea, providing a short window for Swanson and Macario to get back up to speed with the national team and adjust to the newer, younger teammates who have joined the squad. hen, including Jenna Nighswonger, Olivia Moultrie and Jaedyn Shaw. There are also newcomers like Eva Gaetino and Lily Yohannes, who Macario had the chance to see up close when Chelsea faced Ajax in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
GO FURTHER
At 16, USWNT midfielder Lily Yohannes is right on time
“She’s a tremendous player. Really nice girl. I honestly can’t believe she’s 16,” Macario said. “She reads the game so well and it really shows. Ajax had a superb run in the Champions League and I have the impression that it’s a lot thanks to them.
“I remember joking with her after the first game, I was like, ‘Oh, you’re American, aren’t you?’ Are you going to join us? or something like that. And then I learned a few days later that she had been called to the camp. So that was really nice.
Happy to come back ☺️ pic.twitter.com/IUU19BOHhG
– United States Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) April 3, 2024
Swanson and Macario were clearly in good spirits, laughing while answering questions and ruminating about returning to play together after a long recovery.
“I feel like it’s always once something is taken away from you, you always have a new perspective on it,” Swanson said. “I’m really grateful to be back in this environment, back with this team and wearing the patch because it means so much.”
Macario described what it felt like to return to the pitch when she came on as a substitute for Chelsea against Leicester. She said it was the same being back at USWNT camp.
“It really felt like a dream, it was just surreal,” she said. “It’s almost, looking back on the 641 days it took, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
“I wanted to cry but at the same time not because, well, first of all, I’m in public and I hate crying in public. … I think the biggest thing was probably overcoming that mental hurdle of being like, ‘OK, I’m safe, I’m ready to play again.’ I got this.
(Top photo: Getty Images)