Chicago Red Stars’ Kayla Sharples out for the season with torn ACL

The ACL injury bug continues to hit the NWSL, with the Chicago Red Stars announcing Wednesday that defender Kayla Sharples will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.

Sharples went down with the injury during the Red Stars’ match against the Orlando Pride. A key defender on the backline, Sharples had played in every minute of the regular season up until sustaining her injury.

On defense, she had made 41 clearances so far this season, with an 80 percent success rate on her tackles. She’s also made eight interceptions and succeeded on 83.7 percent of her passes.

Sharples made 12 appearances in the A-League while on loan to Adelaide United starting in December.

On Twitter, Sharples said she is “devastated.”

“Thank u to everyone who has reached out, you’ve helped me remain hopeful during this tough time,” she wrote. “If u know me, I love a good comeback story. This injury will fuel me to come back stronger & hungrier than ever.”

ACL injuries have been a storyline this season in the NWSL. Christen Press had been the most recent player to go down with a torn ACL. Before that, Tierna Davidson, Marta, Annika Schmidt, and Mallory Weber all tore their ACLs prior to or at the beginning of the season. Sharples marks the sixth NWSL player this season to have torn their ACL.