Alex Morgan, the current face of U.S. women’s soccer, won’t be showing it on the field again in 2015 World Cup qualifying.
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U.S. Soccer announced Saturday that the sprained left ankle Morgan suffered in the first half of Friday’s 5-0 win over Guatemala at Toyota Park will sideline her for the rest of the CONCACAF women’s championship, the World Cup selection tournament for this region.
Morgan – she stars with Patrick Kane, LeBron James and Jamie McMurray in the McDonald’s Monopoly commercial – is leaving the team this weekend to begin an estimated 4-to-6 week rehab at home.
After the qualifying tournament, Team USA does not play again until a four-team, three-match tournament beginning Dec. 10 in Brazil.
“I have plenty of time to get healthy,” Morgan, 25, of Diamond Bar, Calif., said in a statement.
A sprain of the same ankle had kept Morgan out of action from last November to this June.
She is the third leading scorer on the 2014 national team, with 49 goals in 77 career matches.
“Certainly, she is a tremendous player and a big impact for us, so it will be a loss,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said Friday night. “I also think we have personnel – tonight we saw some things from new players – that I think we will be OK.”
Having virtually assured a spot in the tournament semifinals, Team USA (2-0) meets Haiti (1-1) Monday in the final group play match in Washington. The top three teams in the eight-team championship earn spots in the 2015 World Cup field, while the fourth-place finisher meets Ecuador in a playoff for a another spot.