Arguably the most high profile free agent left on the women’s soccer market is forward Abby Wambach, who elevated herself to heroic proportions during the 2011 World Cup.
Wambach, 32, struggled with nagging Achilles pain in 2011 and will need to pay close attention to her body to stay healthy for the Olympics this summer. After winning gold with Team USA in 2004, Wambach broke her leg just days before the team left for China in 2008 and missed the Olympics. The U.S. went on to win gold again.
With all eyes on gold in London, Wambach’s best bet at staying healthy is resting in between national duties. It is likely that she, along with other U.S. teammates, will not sign with WPS teams in 2012. Many believe the Rochester, N.Y., native would be a perfect fit for the Western New York Flash (for P.R., anyway), but head coach Aaran Lines said there are no discussions taking place.
On Thursday, Wambach spoke about her immediate future.
“It’s hard to say at this point,” she said. “I haven’t signed any contracts but there’s a lot of things that are in the works. My focus and the most important thing to me right now is vying for an Olympic Gold Medal.
“And my body isn’t as young as it was four years ago. I have some Achilles tendonitis issues that I’ve been dealing with for a couple of years now, so I have to be very, very particular about what I do and the things that I put my body through and the stress that I put on myself from now until come London.
“I really need to be careful, so there might be a scenario where I don’t actually play on a professional team prior to the Olympics – I just wait until after to see how my body feels then.”
Does anybody else read that and envision a short stint with the Flash following the Olympics? Assuming it worked for both parties, it would be a brilliant P.R. move for Joe Sahlen and WPS. Plus, we’re talking about Abby Wambach. It doesn’t hurt to have her on the field down the stretch.
