As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.
Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.
"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."
"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."
Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.
"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."
Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.
Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.
"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."
Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return
On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.
Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.
Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."
"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."