San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan will miss Saturday's National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) match against Bay FC due to an ankle injury, Wave head coach Casey Stoney confirmed on Thursday.

"She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there," Stoney said.

Morgan was injured in the final minutes of the Wave's 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last Friday. She challenged for a loose ball in a goal-mouth scramble and fell awkwardly into the goal before rolling around and grabbing her left ankle. She eventually stood up and limped off the field gingerly.

The injury occurred less than 100 days before the 2024 Olympics. Morgan, who turns 35 prior to the Olympics, is seeking to compete in her fourth Games for the United States women's national team this summer.

Morgan was initially left off the USWNT's Concacaf W Gold Cup roster earlier this year but joined the team as an injury replacement ahead of the tournament.

Since then, she re-emerged as the USWNT's preferred center forward -- the role she has mostly held for over a decade -- starting in each of the last five games as the USWNT won the Gold Cup and the recent SheBelieves Cup. Morgan has scored 123 career goals for the USWNT.

The USWNT next gathers in late May ahead of a pair of June friendly matches against South Korea, which will be the first games in charge for new USWNT head coach Emma Hayes.

Morgan had featured in all four San Diego Wave regular season matches to date this season, tallying one assist. Her lone club tally of 2024 came in the NWSL Challenge Cup on March 15, which the Wave won 1-0 behind that 88th-minute goal.

Morgan has been integral to the Wave since the team launched as an expansion side in 2022. That season was her most productive ever at the club level, with 15 goals and two assists in 17 games. Last year, she tallied seven goals and five assists to help the Wave win the NWSL Shield as the best team in the regular season.

Source:
courtesy of ESPN

by Jeff Kassouf

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