Fansided

Alex Morgan out with knee bruise

By Nathaniel Reeves

facebooktwitterreddit

USWNT team star Alex Morgan will miss at least two matches with a knee issue.

More from Soccer

United States Women’s National Team star forward Alex Morgan will miss at least two matches with a bone bruise in her left knee, according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

Morgan has not played since April 11 due to the injury, missing two matches with her club Portland Thorns FC. Carlisle reported that Morgan is expected to be fully recovered when the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup begins on June 8 and the injury resulted from wear and tear rather than a single occurrence.

The two matches that Morgan will miss will be friendlies Sunday against Ireland and May 17 against Mexico. Neither team poses much of a threat to the United States, and the team has much bigger matches to worry about in the near future.

While everyone expects Morgan (and teammate Tobin Heath) to be healthy one month from today for the World Cup, this isn’t good news. Morgan has missed a lot of time with various injuries over the past couple years, including four weeks back in November with a left ankle sprain.

“Wear and tear” on the knee of an attacking forward isn’t exactly a promising sign moving forward. The good news is that Morgan is still just 25 years old, which should help her recovery.

The United States needs Morgan to be in top form to beat out other contenders like Germany and France at the World Cup. Morgan burst onto the seen at the 2011 World Cup with a goal in both the semifinal and final, and has been the team’s most prolific forward since.

Even in the group stage, the United States could be challenged by Sweden and Australia, so the team will need Morgan to produce early in the tournament. Hopefully the time off helps Morgan’s various injuries and gets her to 100 percent, but this is certainly something worth being concerned about moving forward.

More from Soccer

Home/Soccer