Jeff KassoufOct 17, 2025, 01:16 PM ET
- Jeff Kassouf covers women’s soccer for ESPN, focusing on the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, he founded The Equalizer, a women’s soccer news outlet, and he previously won a Sports Emmy at NBC Sports and Olympics.
United States forward Trinity Rodman has a Grade 1 MCL sprain and will be sidelined for an unspecified amount of time, Washington Spirit head coach Adrian Gonzalez said Friday. There is no timetable for her return.
Rodman is expected to miss the U.S. women’s national team’s upcoming games against Portugal and New Zealand due to the knee injury sustained earlier this week. U.S. Soccer has not announced Rodman’s withdrawal from training camp, and Gonzalez said he could not answer whether she would miss time with the USWNT.
The NWSL playoffs begin in three weeks. Rodman is one the best players in the NWSL and a focal point of the attack for Washington, which recently clinched the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.
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“We are going to take this day by day,” Gonzalez told reporters. “Every player is completely different.”
Rodman’s injury occurred on Wednesday, just a few hours after U.S. Soccer announced her return to the team after a six-month absence, and USWNT head coach Emma Hayes told reporters she was “super excited” to have Rodman back on the roster. Rodman last played for the USWNT on April 5.
“She’s one of the best players in the world, and we’ve had to play without her for more than a year,” Hayes said about Rodman on Wednesday prior to the forward’s injury.
Rodman was helped off the field in tears during Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Mexican side Monterrey in the final game of group play in the Concacaf W Champions Cup. She was unable to put pressure on her right leg. She was later seen on crutches and in a full knee brace.
Trinity Rodman reacts after getting injured and leaving the game in the first half of the Washington Spirit’s game with Monterrey. Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
“She’s at the facility today starting the rehab; she’s doing good,” Gonzalez added. “The results that we got are the best scenario. Obviously, an injury is not always a good situation. It’s not as bad as it could be. She’s starting now the rehab.
“She has an MCL sprain. It’s not too big, too much, but we need to see how she’s doing every day, start the rehab today, and try to support her in this situation.”
Washington’s victory on Wednesday clinched the Spirit a spot in next year’s semifinals of the regional championship, which serves as qualification to FIFA’s forthcoming world club competitions.
Rodman’s status for the NWSL playoffs is also uncertain. There are two games remaining in the NWSL’s regular season. The playoffs begin on Nov. 7. The NWSL Championship takes place on Nov. 22.
Rodman has dealt with a recurring back injury for over a year. Her appearance for the USWNT in April — when she scored six minutes into a 2-0 win over Brazil — is her lone international cap since the Olympic gold medal game in August 2024.
The Spirit clinched the No. 2 seed in the NWSL playoffs for the second straight season. Last year, Washington finished second in the regular season and runner-up to the Orlando Pride in the NWSL Championship.
Rodman played through back pain during that stretch and said after her team’s loss in the final in November 2024 that it was “not an excuse but I wasn’t the Trin that I wanted to be today” due to her back pain.
“All players are different,” Gonzalez said on Friday. “We are taking care of every player as an individual in terms of how we prepare [for] the weeks, the games, and trying to individualize as much as possible the loads. Obviously, every player has a different background, and we always are taking care of those details.
“Right now, we need to focus on day by day, try to help her to recover, to heal as best as possible, and let’s see how she’s progressing every day.”
The U.S. will play Portugal on Oct. 23 in Chester, Pennsylvania, and again on Oct. 26 in East Hartford, Connecticut. The Americans wrap up the window against New Zealand in Kansas City on Oct. 29.
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