France’s Wendie Renard returned in triumph on Saturday, while Haiti’s Jennyfer Limage received the unfortunate distinction of sustaining the first torn ACL of the 2023 World Cup.

Just Women’s Sports is keeping track of the biggest names dealing with injuries at the tournament, which kicked off July 20.

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Possible to return

Keira Walsh, England

The 26-year-old midfielder exited England’s 1-0 win against Denmark on July 28 with an apparent knee injury. Walsh twisted awkwardly while trying to intercept a pass, and she could be seen telling team medical staff: “I’ve done my knee.”

After she was stretchered off the field in the first half, she returned to the sidelines in the second half on crutches. On Saturday, the Football Association confirmed that Walsh has avoided an ACL tear,  but has been ruled out of the team’s match against China and her status is in doubt for the remainder of the World Cup.

Ada Hegerberg, Norway

After being named to Norway’s Starting XI against Switzerland on July 25, star forward Ada Hegerberg was pulled moments before kickoff.

The former Ballon D’Or winner felt discomfort in her groin while warming up for the match, Fox Sports reported. She was evaluated by the team doctor and returned to the locker room to receive treatment, according to Norwegian TV. Following the game, Hegerberg addressed her absence on Twitter.

“I felt discomfort when sprinting right after the anthems,” she wrote. “We decided with the staff that no risk should be taken and no subs should be wasted in such an important game for us, and we all trusted Sophie, Karina, and the team to do the job, which they did. We move on.”

Marina Hegering, Germany

Defender Marina Hegering missed Germany’s first match against Morocco with a bruised heel.

Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik, Australia

Australia will be without Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik for at least its second group-stage match after the duo sustained mild concussions in separate incidents during practice on July 25. Both have “fully recovered” and are in return to play protocol, per the team. But as of 2018, Football Australia’s return to play protocol “provides for a minimum of six days before the player can play a competitive game.” Australia plays its third and final group-stage match on July 31.

Sam Kerr, Australia

Two hours before Australia’s World Cup opener, the star striker announced that she would miss the Matildas’ first two group-stage games with a calf injury.

“Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training,” she wrote. “I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from us doing what we came here to achieve. Of course, I would have loved to have been out there tonight but I can’t wait to be apart of this amazing journey which starts now.”

Even without Kerr, Australia pulled off a 1-0 win against Ireland thanks to a penalty from Steph Catley in the second half. They lost to Nigeria 2-1, however, in their next match.

Kerr said Saturday she is “definitely going to be available” for the team’s game against Canada, while coach Tony Gustavsson noted that the time frame is “tight.”

Lena Oberdorf, Germany

Star midfielder Lena Oberdorf missed Germany’s first match against Morocco with a thigh injury.

“It looks as if we won’t be able to fall back on either of them in the first game,” head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said of Oberdorf and Hegering. But even without the pair, Germany pulled off an impressive 6-0 win.

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Out for World Cup

Jennyfer Limage, Haiti

Haitian defender Jennyfer Limage will be out for the rest of the World Cup after tearing her ACL and rupturing her meniscus in her team’s 1-0 loss to England on July 22. Limage had to be carried off the field and is slated to undergo surgery.

Her injury marks the first ACL tear of the World Cup and continues what has become a growing injury trend in the women’s game, with a number of stars missing this year’s World Cup due to ACL tears.

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Returned to play

Denise O’Sullivan, Ireland

O’Sullivan went down with a shin injury during an “overly physical” friendly on July 14 between Ireland and Colombia, which was halted after 20 minutes. The 29-year-old midfielder was taken to the hospital for treatment after the match was abandoned.

O’Sullivan underwent scans, with the team tweeting out that the results were “positive news,” and she played in the World Cup against Australia on July 20.

Wendie Renard, France

The France captain underwent an MRI on July 24 after feeling pain in her calf. She briefly appeared at training, where she spoke with the team doctor and later left the field, according to L’Équipe.

French media outlet Le Progrès has reported that Renard’s injury could keep her out of France’s final two group-stage matches. The injury is similar to one she suffered prior to the 2022 club season with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, which kept her out of play for a month, the outlet noted.

But Renard made her return on Saturday, even after her status was unclear on the eve of the match.

“Our hope is that everything goes well because we need her,” France coach Herve Renard said Friday night. “We are not sure tonight 100%. Our trainings are quite intense and we will have to see how things happen once we face the match.”

Renard was ready to go, playing the full 90 and even scored the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute.

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Did not appear at World Cup

Janine Beckie, Canada

The 28-year-old forward tore her ACL during a preseason NWSL game in March. She later confirmed in an Instagram post that she will miss this summer’s World Cup after helping Canada to its first Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer in 2021.

“Having worked so hard during off-season for what was set to be one of the biggest seasons of my career, defending the title for @thornsfc and of course playing in the World Cup for Canada, being out for an extended period of time is a difficult pill to swallow,” she wrote.

Delphine Cascarino, France

French winger Delphine Cascarino suffered a partial ACL tear while playing for Lyon in a league win over Paris-Saint Germain on May 21. As a result, she will be sidelined for “several months” and will miss the World Cup.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take part in the World Cup this summer with my teammates, whom I’ll be supporting from here,” Cascarino said on Instagram.

Cascarino has made 56 appearances for France, scoring 14 goals. Her loss is a blow to France’s chances at the World Cup, as the team also could find itself without Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who is still making her way back from an ACL tear.

Amandine Henry, France

The midfielder was ruled out of the World Cup on July 7 after sustaining a calf injury while training with the France national team two days earlier. She underwent an MRI that confirmed the diagnosis, France coach Hervé Renard said.

Henry, who signed a three-year contract with Angel City FC in June, will be replaced on the roster by Aïssatou Tounkara, the French Football Federation announced.

The former French captain had recently returned to the national team after a longstanding dispute with Corinne Diacre, who was fired as head coach in March due to a “very significant divide” within the team.

Marie-Antoinette Katoto, France

The 24-year-old striker tore her ACL last July during the Euros tournament. She reportedly had to pull back from her recovery at the beginning of the year, and while she has since resumed running and weight-bearing exercises, she will be unable to join France at the World Cup.

Katoto underwent medical exams on May 30 at the training ground for the France women’s national team, and she was ruled unfit to participate in the tournament, French news agency AFP reported. France coach Herve Renard will reveal his World Cup roster on June 6.

Fran Kirby, England

Kirby is slated to undergo surgery on a knee injury she sustained in February, which will keep her out of World Cup contention, she revealed on May 2.

The 29-year-old midfielder had been trying to rehab her knee since exiting the pitch during a Chelsea match on Feb. 9. But after a reassessment with a specialist and the Chelsea medical team, she will have surgery to repair the injury. Details of the injury have not been disclosed.

“I have been trying my best to not have to undergo this but unfortunately my progress has been limited due to the issue in my knee,” Kirby wrote in a social media post. “I’m absolutely gutted to announce that this means my season is over and I will not be able to make the World Cup in the summer.”

Catarina Macario, United States

After tearing her ACL last June, the initial recovery timeline would have had the 23-year-old back on the pitch in plenty of time for this summer’s World Cup. But she “won’t be physically ready for selection,” she announced on May 23.

“The desire to return to play for my club and country has driven my training and fueled my everyday life,” she wrote. “However, what’s most important right now is my health and getting fit and ready for my next club season.”

Beth Mead, England

Another Arsenal injury, the 27-year-old striker ruptured her ACL last November during Women’s Super League play.

While Mead said in early May that she was “ahead of schedule” in her recovery, she did not make the England roster for the World Cup, as revealed on May 31.

Sam Mewis, United States

After dealing with a nagging injury since the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, the 30-year-old midfielder underwent knee surgery in January.

“I don’t have a timeline for return to soccer,” she said after the surgery, all but certainly cementing her absence from the U.S. women’s national team lineup for the World Cup.

Vivianne Miedema, Netherlands

Miedema went down with a torn ACL while playing for Arsenal in December. The all-time leading scorer for the Netherlands, the 26-year-old forward ruled herself out of the World Cup in a statement.

“I won’t be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long time,” she said.

Hazel Nali, Zambia

Zambia’s starting goalkeeper Hazel Nali will miss the World Cup after suffering an ACL tear. The announcement came on July 12, mere days before the World Cup kicks off on July 20.

Nali has been a standout in net for Zambia, making her senior national team debut in 2014. She played for the senior team at the 2014 African Women’s Championship, the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations and the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Championship, as well as at the Tokyo Olympics.

Christen Press, United States

The 34-year-old forward has had three surgeries on the same knee in eight months since she tore the ACL in her right knee last June during the NWSL regular season.

She has yet to feature for Angel City FC this season and is still listed under a season-ending injury designation carried over from 2022. Press had held out hope for a spot on the plane to New Zealand, but she was not selected to coach Vlatko Andonovski’s final 23-player roster as she continues to recover.

“There has never been a moment where I lost hope and that I took my focus off of the World Cup, from the moment that I got injured until now,” Press said in May. “It’s the North Star for all of us professional players and it’s a motivation.”

Katie Rood, New Zealand

The 30-year-old forward has “joined the ACL club,” she announced Monday via Instagram.

Rood tore her ACL while playing for Heart of Midlothian WFC in the Scottish Women’s Premier League. A member of the New Zealand national team since 2017, she’s made 15 appearance and notched five goals.

“Obviously gutted about it,” she wrote. “I have intended to return to NZ in June for a training camp to have one final crack at making the World Cup team. Looks like life has other plans for me.. and as gutted as I am about the World Cup dream being over, I’m beginning to look forward to seeing what other opportunities are out there for me.”

Becky Sauerbrunn

USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn was ruled out of the World Cup due to a lingering foot injury, in news she confirmed days before the team’s roster reveal.

The starting center-back said she, too, had held out “like 10% hope” of making the U.S. roster, but ultimately her timeline for recovery did not match up with the USWNT’s needs.

“It sucks, like it’s such a bummer,” she said on the Snacks podcast. “I really thought that I was gonna get back in time. Had a setback, you know, we gave them timelines where I could feasibly have played minutes at the World Cup. But the variability of it was, they just didn’t want to have to deal with that.”

Mallory Swanson, United States

Swanson’s injury is not a torn ACL, but it’s just as serious: a torn patellar tendon. The 24-year-old forward had surgery to repair the ligament, which she tore in the USWNT’s first April match against Ireland. Patellar tendon tears typically have at least a six-month recovery timeline, although that can extend to as long as 12 months, so Swanson will miss the World Cup.

Leah Williamson, England

The 26-year-old Arsenal defender tore her ACL during an April match.

“Unfortunately the World Cup and Champions League dream is over for me and everyone will think that’s the main focus, but it’s the day to day of what I’m going through that’s the most draining of my thoughts,” she said in an Instagram post.

After an illustrious career for both club and country, Gotham FC and U.S. Women’s National Team defender Kelley O’Hara announced today via Kelley on the Street that she will be retiring from professional soccer at the end of this year, making the 2024 NWSL season her last.

"I have always said I would play under two conditions: that I still love playing soccer, and if my body would let me do it the way I wanted to," O’Hara told Just Women’s Sports in the lead-up to her retirement announcement. "I realized a while back that I was always going to love it, so it was the physical piece that was going to be the deciding factor."

The 35-year-old will retire as a two-time World Cup champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and at least a two-time NWSL champion, depending on where Gotham finishes this season. Her legacy as a player is hard to fully encapsulate, and will forever run through some of the biggest snapshots in USWNT and NWSL history. 

In 2012, O’Hara played every minute of the USWNT’s Olympic gold medal run, after having recently converted into a defender. Her soaring goal off the bench in the 2015 World Cup semifinal is the stuff of legend. And her return from lingering injury to play in every knockout match of the national team’s 2019 World Cup win cemented a storybook international career. 

It was O’Hara who scored the overtime goal in 2021 to earn the Washington Spirit their first-ever NWSL championship, and O’Hara who returned to help see Gotham earn a title in 2023 after years spent in the trenches with the club’s previous iteration, Sky Blue. Her 15-year career spanned two professional women’s soccer leagues in the U.S. (she earned her first professional title in 2010 with WPS’s FC Gold Pride), as well as sweeping changes to the sport both on and off the pitch.

On the field, O’Hara has always been known for a motor that never quits, making the right flank her domain in attacking possession and defensive transition. In recent years, she’s also been celebrated for a competitive fire that raises the level of her teammates, whether she’s in the starting XI or supporting from the bench.

But injuries take a toll, a reality not always seen by the fans watching from home. "I've never taken anything for granted, and I feel like I've never coasted either," O’Hara said of her late-career success in the NWSL despite battling injuries. "I've always been like, 'I gotta put my best foot forward every single day I step on this field' — which is honestly probably half the reason why I'm having to retire now as opposed to getting a couple more years out of it. I've just grinded hard."

Recently, O’Hara has been sidelined at Gotham with ankle and knee injuries, and the situation motivated her to really prioritize listening to her body. "To get injured and come back, and get injured and come back, and just keep doing it, it really takes a toll on you.

"People don't see the doubt that's associated with injury,” she continued. "As athletes we feel a certain way, we perform a certain way, our body feels a certain way, we're very in tune with our bodies. And there's always so much doubt surrounding injury. It’s like, 'Can I feel the way I felt before?' The reality is sometimes you don't."

O’Hara didn’t arrive at the decision to move on from her playing career lightly. But once she began seriously considering making 2024 her final year during the last NWSL offseason, it felt right. "Once I was like, 'Alright, you know what, this will be my last year,' I have had a lot of peace with it," she said. "Truly the only thing I felt was gratitude for everything that my career has been, all the things I've been able to do and the people I've been able to do it with."

She said she’ll miss daily interactions with her teammates and all the amazing memories they’ve created, though she feels lucky to have formed relationships that go beyond sharing a locker room. "You're basically getting to hang out and just shoot the shit with your best friends every day," she reflected. "Which is so unheard of, and I just feel very lucky to do it for so long."

The Stanford graduate also mentioned that the NWSL’s suspension of regular season play in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic made her realize how much playing allowed her the space to simply be creative every day. The tactical elements of soccer provided O’Hara an outlet for problem solving and made use of her naturally competitive edge.

She’s now gearing up to channel her on-field intensity into her post-playing career full time, which is a new chapter she’s excited to begin. "I don't know if the world's ready for it, like the fact that I'm not going to be putting all of my energy into football all the time," she said with a laugh. 

O’Hara said she would like to stay connected to the game in some fashion, whether it be as an owner, coach, or member of a front office. She’s also interested in the growing media space surrounding women’s sports, having provided on-camera analysis for broadcasters like CBS Sports in addition to starting a production company with her fiancée.

"I just feel like I have a lot of passions, and things that excite me," she says. "And I do want to stay as close as I can to the game, because I feel a responsibility — and I'm not sure in what capacity — to continue to grow it."

A sense of responsibility to grow the game has been a consistent refrain for the USWNT and NWSL players of O’Hara’s era, who ushered in a new age of equal pay for the national team and collectively bargained protections for those in the league. The landscape for new players looks different than it did 14 years ago, in large part due to this pivotal generation.

"I feel an immense sense of pride around that, because I don't know if any of us knew that was gonna happen," she said. "We kind of, as things unfolded, took the next step towards changing what women's football looks like in this country and around the world.

"I'm really grateful to have been part of this era with the players that I was [with], not backing down and pushing and knowing that was the right thing to do."

Whatever the future holds, O’Hara is going ahead full throttle. It’s a piece of advice she’d also give to the next generation of professionals looking to make their own impact.

"Whatever you do in life, do it because you love it, and the chips will fall in place," she said. "If you love something, you're willing to do what it takes. You're willing to make the sacrifices, you're willing to handle the roller coaster.

"To me, it's simple. Don't do it for any other reason but that, and I think you'll be alright."

The Phoenix Mercury center spoke with Robin Roberts about her 10-month incarceration, reflecting on her poor living conditions and shaky mental state ahead of her May 7th memoir.

"The mattress had a huge blood stain on it. I had no soap, no toilet paper," Griner told the ABC News anchor in last night’s 20/20 special. "That was the moment where I just felt less than a human." 

She also detailed some of her lowest moments during that time, saying with tears in her eyes that she went so far as to consider taking her own life on more than one occasion. However, the thought of Russian officials not releasing her body back to her family made her reconsider.

"I just didn't think I could get through what I needed to get through," said Griner.

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In February 2022, Griner was arrested and charged with drug possession and smuggling by a Russian court after Sheremetyevo International Airport police found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. The cartridges were prescribed by Griner’s doctor for chronic pain back in Arizona, where medical marijuana is legal. In the interview, the two-time Olympic gold medalist said she had a "mental lapse" while packing, and never intended to bring the cannabis products with her when she returned to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg.

"It's just so easy to have a mental lapse," Griner said. "Granted, my mental lapse was on a more grand scale. But it doesn't take away from how that can happen." 

She was later sentenced to nine years behind bars after her Russian attorneys advised her to plead guilty the following July. Griner was then sent to a remote penal colony where she was forced to spend her days cutting cloth to make military uniforms. From there, it only got worse.

"Honestly, it just had to happen," she said when asked about her decision to cut off her signature long locks. "We had spiders above my bed making nests.

"My dreads started to freeze," she added. "They would just stay wet and cold and I was getting sick. You've gotta do what you've gotta do to survive."

Shortly after Griner’s initial arrest, the U.S. State Department classified her case as wrongfully detained, escalating its urgency within the government and calling even more attention to the situation. On December 8th, she was freed in a prisoner exchange negotiated by the Biden administration.

While she told Roberts she was "thrilled" when she got the news, she was also very upset about having to leave fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan behind. She also continues to carry guilt about her arrest, saying "At the end of the day, it's my fault. And I let everybody down."

Griner’s memoir, Coming Home, hits shelves on May 7th.

"Coming Home begins in a land where my roots developed and is the diary of my heartaches and regrets," Griner told ABC News in an exclusive statement. "But, ultimately, the book is also a story of how my family, my faith, and the support of millions who rallied for my rescue helped me endure a nightmare."

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

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In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

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Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.