Alex Morgan (pictured) suffered an ankle injury that will keep her out of the rest of the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship. (Photo: Mexsport)
CHICAGO – U.S. Soccer announced Saturday that forward Alex Morgan will miss the rest of the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship due to a left ankle sprain suffered in a 5-0 win over Guatemala a night earlier.
Morgan underwent an MRI that confirmed the sprain, but revealed no additional damage. She will be out an estimated 4-6 weeks to rehabilitate the injury.
“We certainly feel for Alex and of course having her go down is a big loss to our team. But as I’ve often said, one of our strengths is depth and everyone on the roster is prepared to step up,” said U.S. head coach Jill Ellis. “After talking with our medical staff and Alex, we all agreed that the best course of action for her is to head home to minimize travel and get into an environment where she can totally focus on recovery.”
Morgan, who has scored 49 goals in 77 international matches, started the first two games of the tournament, which is doubling as qualifying competition for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“It’s unfortunate timing, but I know my teammates will take care of business and qualify for the World Cup and I’ll be watching from my couch,” said Morgan, the 2013 CONCACAF Women’s Player of the Year. “I have plenty of time to get healthy with a longer break coming up for the team, so my job is to focus on the rehab and get back healthy as soon as I can.”
