Soccer

Catarina Macario injury update: Lyon star could return to USWNT in April from ACL tear

Catarina Macario, one of the U.S. women’s national team’s brightest young stars, could be back for both club and country soon after spending nearly a year on the sideline.

The 23-year-old came off after 13 minutes of Lyon’s final league match of the 2021/22 season against Issy on June 1 last summer, and four days later confirmed that she had suffered a torn left ACL in what was a meaningless match.

It’s been a long recovery for the USWNT star, and the national team has definitely felt her absence in the attacking third.

“Unfortunately, injuries are a natural part of football,” Macario wrote in a social media post announcing her injury last summer. “Tearing an ACL is never easy, and although I am devastated to be away from the field and my teammates for a few months, I could not be more proud of my first year as a professional footballer and to have helped the team reconquer two big titles this season.

Macario was fresh off a starring role in Lyon’s Champions League final upset of favored Barcelona, scoring a goal and assisting another in the 3-0 victory. Now, Macario has spent months on the sidelines and missed a key stretch of national team games ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which will be played from July 20-Aug. 20, 2023. Thankfully, she is expected to be back with enough time to prepare for World Cup action.

“As challenging as the recovery process may be, I believe that God is in control of everything, so I have no doubt that with the right support system, patience, and hard work, I will be back better and hungrier than ever before.”

Macario’s contract with Lyon runs through the summer of 2023, 13 months after her ACL injury.

MORE: Why female athletes are more prone to ACL tears than men, and what is being done to keep women safe

When will Catarina Macario return from torn ACL?

Macario’s return to competitive action is almost complete. According to USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski in early February ahead of the SheBelieves Cup, Macario is in “return to play protocol” and could be back in the national team fold by April. She is prepping for an imminent return alongside a host of other big-name international teammates.

Upon suffering the injury last June, Macario was aiming for a February 2023 return. On October 31, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski stated in a press conference that “If she doesn’t have any setbacks, we can see Cat back on the field in late February.”

Also back in October, Macario told Julie Foudy’s podcast Laughter Permitted that her recovery is going well. “I’m starting to do some more movements and feeling a little bit more like myself again,” she said. “Like I’m somewhat of an athlete,” she said, “So that’s cool.” Macario also stated that her goal is to return in time for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which now seems highly likely.

That late February timeline is still possible with her club team Lyon, who would love to get her back for a key stretch of the season. The club sits atop the Ligue 1 Feminin table by just a point with nine matches to go, and will begin Champions League knockout stage play in late March.

The typical recovery time from a torn ACL for soccer players is 6-8 months, but it can also depend on the extent of the tear and subsequent surgery, as well as other factors during the recovery process. Macario’s ACL tear was the second suffered by a key Lyon player, with Dzsenifer Marozsan also picking up the same injury in May while on international duty with Germany.

How was Catarina Macario injured with Lyon?

In the ninth minute of Lyon’s season-ending D1 Feminine match against Issy, Macario went down with an injury, substituted off five minutes later after lengthy treatment. The USWNT star would eventually confirm the injury as a torn ACL, leaving her sidelined for the coming months.

The injury took place while taking an off-balance shot, whipping a right-footed shot that was blocked by her defender. The Brazilian-born star then immediately fell to the ground clutching her left knee. The broadcast’s replay did not clearly show what happened, but it appeared that Macario’s twisting shot may have caused her to land awkwardly or somehow twist her leg, triggering the injury.

The match was a meaningless affair, with Lyon having already confirmed themselves league champions weeks prior, finishing the season 11 points clear at the top of the 12-team table, collecting 64 points across a 22-match season, with 21 wins and one draw, amassing a +71 goal differential. PSG finished second with 53 points.

What games will Catarina Macario miss with torn ACL?

With a 6-8 month recovery time likely ahead for Macario, she will miss a long list of matches for Lyon and the USWNT.

Most notably, Macario missed the CONCACAF W Championship tournament with the USWNT, which ran from July 4-8. The competition doubled as 2023 Women’s World Cup qualifying and 2024 Summer Olympics qualification. The USWNT won the competition in Macario’s absence, defeating Canada 1-0 in the final.

That result secured qualification to the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Canada, as the losing finalist, also secured a spot in the World Cup and will play third-place finisher Jamaica in a September 2023 playoff for the other Olympic spot.

After the summer international window, Macario’s return to Lyon has also been significantly delayed. The start of the 2022-23 D1 Feminine season kicked off on Sept. 10, 2022, with Lyon neck-and-neck with PSG for the top spot. The French club has also been competing in the Women’s Champions League, finishing second in their group behind Arsenal to secure a spot in the knockout stage.

The Champions League quarterfinals begin in late March, so Macario should return for those games should she stick to her timeline mentioned earlier.

The USWNT has a pair of mid-January friendlies against New Zealand that Macario will likely not return in time for, but she could potentially be back to earn minutes in the SheBelieves Cup, which the USWNT will take part in from February 16-22 with games against Canada, Japan, and Brazil. Those three games are likely what Vlatko Andonovski was referring to with his late February timeline.

Catarina Macario’s rise with Lyon & USWNT

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the women’s game over the last two years, establishing herself as a star presence for both a Champions League winner (Lyon) and a top international side (No. 1-ranked USWNT).

Macario joined Lyon in January 2021 after an historic collegiate career with Stanford where she won two MAC Hermann trophies as the best player in college. She pushed herself into a starting role, helping the club to a D1 Feminine title and the Champions League crown in 2021-22, becoming the first American international to score in the Women’s Champions League final.

Additionally, Macario has quickly risen to a key role with the U.S. Women’s national team. She already has eight goals to her name in just 17 appearances since debuting in January 2021.

Born in Brazil, she received her U.S. citizenship in October of 2020 and was granted clearance to represent the United States in January 2021. She made her USWNT debut on January 18, 2021 in a 4-0 win against Colombia, and rapidly rose to prominence with the side.

Her most recent goals came against Uzbekistan in two April 2022 friendlies, and prior to that she found the net against Iceland in the 2022 SheBelieves Cup:


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