Alex Morgan is off crutches and is still at least a month away from playing again, she said in an interview with U.S. Soccer, which was posted on Wednesday.
Morgan injured her left ankle during U.S. training in October and played 22 minutes against Brazil on Nov. 10. But her ankle worsened and her participation in December training camp was limited, before she was seen in a boot at the end of 2013. Morgan missed the January U.S. camps and the opening game against Canada, a 1-0 win on Jan. 31. She will also miss a pair of upcoming games against Russia.
In the video, Morgan says she will have her boot removed in two weeks, and another MRI in four weeks, which is right at the start of NWSL preseason on March 10.
Prior to the victory in Frisco, Texas on January 31, U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni spoke with The Equalizer about Alex Morgan’s return to national team duty.
“It’s a little injury that we need to take a great deal of care with, make sure it’s not rushed and make sure we treat it properly. We treat it carefully and we make sure she’s 100 percent before we bring her back.”
Considering the timeline described by Morgan in the video, Sermanni’s assessment of it being a “little” injury may be overly optimistic.
Regardless of the adjectives used, Sermanni was certain on one thing. “She certainly won’t be playing for anybody—whether it’s us, or a league team—until she is completely 100 percent fit. And if there’s any doubt about her fitness, we’ll make a call on that and take the appropriate action.”
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Additional reporting by Meg Linehan
