From Christen Press to Alexia Putellas, from Beth Mead to Vivianne Miedema, ACL injuries have ravaged women’s soccer ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

Yet even with injuries to Press and other stars, the U.S. women’s national team enters 2023 in stronger position than much of its World Cup competition thanks to the depth of its roster — and the recovery timelines for some of its injured players.

Miedema became the latest international star to tear a knee ligament. She went down with a left leg injury in Arsenal’s Champions League match against Lyon last Thursday, and she announced Monday that she had ruptured her ACL and would miss the World Cup.

Her injury comes as a blow to the Netherlands. The 2019 runners-up will face off against the USWNT in the group stage next summer, a task made more daunting with their all-time leading scorer on the bench.

💔🤕🩼

Gutted to share I’ve ruptured my ACL.

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PS. I can’t wait to boss around @bmeado9 this time, at least we’ve still got two decent ACL’s between us 🩼😅 pic.twitter.com/E52GAQP1GI

— Vivianne Miedema (@VivianneMiedema) December 19, 2022

She joins a long list of top players to suffer ACL injuries in 2022, among them:

• Beth Mead, who helped lead England to a European Championship this summer with her Golden Boot-winning run but will miss the World Cup after rupturing her ACL in November.
• France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who tore her ACL during the Euros in July.
• Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who injured hers in training ahead of the summer tournament, and her teammate Jennifer Hermoso, who injured hers in June.

The USWNT has had several players sidelined with ACL injuries as well. Press’ injury came in an Angel City FC match in June, and Catarina Macario’s came in a Lyon match later that month. Tierna Davidson tore her ACL in March while training with the Chicago Red Stars.

Despite the injuries, the USWNT has maintained its world No. 1 ranking. The team lost three games in a row for the first time since 1993, which is cause for concern, but the key injuries to other national teams could boost the odds for the defending World Cup champions.

While the USWNT had to deal with an injury list that only seemed to grow throughout the year, younger players gained valuable experience ahead of next summer’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Sophia Smith has stepped up in the absence of players like Macario and Press. Her minutes and production increased from 2021 to 2022, as she jumped from one goal in 329 minutes to a team-leading 11 in 1,192. Mallory Pugh and Alex Morgan also made triumphant returns after spending some time on the outside looking in.

All the while, players like Naomi Girma, Taylor Kornieck and Trinity Rodman earned valuable minutes and helped to showcase the future of the squad.

Plus, because the USWNT’s ACL injuries occurred in the first half of 2022, those players could return to the national team well ahead of the 2023 World Cup, which kicks off in July.

Davidson has returned to training with VfL Wolfsburg. Macario is expected to return in February, as is Press, who per her Instagram account appears to be making strides in her recovery.

Christen Press back putting in the work after tearing her ACL. pic.twitter.com/XC1D5CDheT

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) December 19, 2022

If Macario, Press and Davidson — or any number of other injured players — return to the USWNT in early 2023, they’ll find themselves competing for minutes with players who carved out roles in 2022.

And while the USWNT still has plenty of polishing left to do ahead of the World Cup, their increased depth could set the team up for a deep run.

The WNBA is taking a weekend road trip, as the No. 2 Atlanta Dream and No. 8 Seattle Storm head across the border to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the league's first-ever in-season Canada Game on Friday night.

The game features a rematch of Atlanta's 85-75 win over the Storm on Wednesday, with the win propelling the Dream up the WNBA standings — and threatening to drop Seattle out of postseason contention entirely.

"Time is running out, and the team knows it," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said earlier this week. "I didn't want to put so much pressure on them, but they know the situation, and they understand the urgency."

While Friday marks the first regular-season WNBA matchup played outside the US, the league has previously staged two preseason games in Canada, tipping off in Toronto in 2023 and Edmonton in 2024 — both in front of sold-out crowds.

Toronto's 2023 exhibition appeared to serve as a trial run for expansion, with the league awarding the Canadian city its first franchise — the 2026-incoming Toronto Tempo — earlier this year.

While plans for a formal move to Vancouver hasn't yet surfaced, the WNBA's explosive popularity and rapid growth outlook provide plenty of room for new markets to enter the conversation.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA Canada Game

The No. 8 Seattle Storm and No. 2 Atlanta Dream will square off inside Vancouver's Rogers Arena at 10 PM ET on Friday night.

Live coverage of the WNBA Canada Game clash will air on ION.

Coming off a series of strategic transactions, the No. 10 Washington Mystics will forge ahead on Friday night, taking on the short-staffed No. 6 Indiana Fever with a chance to play spoiler as they reshape their 2025 expectations from below the postseason cutoff line.

"There's just so many different success stories with this group," Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson said following Washington's 88-83 loss to the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.

The Mystics have lost five of their last six games, and will take the court on Friday without injured new addition Jacy Sheldon and starting center Shakira Austin.

While Washington exceeded this year's early-season projections — skyrocketing above the playoff line behind leading scorer Brittney Sykes and the dynamic rookie duo of Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron — the now-fading Mystics chose to shift gears at the trade deadline, sending Sykes to the No. 8 Seattle Storm and shipping second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards off to the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

With their natural 2026 draft pick secured, Washington has a shot at adding a top first-round prospect should they play out the rest of the regular season at the bottom of the WNBA standings — in other words, by strategically tanking the final weeks of 2025 play.

On the other hand, the injury-laden Indiana enters Friday's action eyeing a win after falling to the No. 11 Dallas Wings by just one point on Tuesday.

How to watch the Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever on Friday

The No. 10 Mystics will take on the No. 6 Fever in Indianapolis at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on ION.

A top-table battle headlines the NWSL this weekend, as the No. 1 Kansas City Current hosts the No. 2 Orlando Pride for a possible postseason rehearsal on Saturday.

Led by Golden Boot frontrunner Temwa Chawinga, the Current enter the weekend with a full 12-point lead over the rest of the league, as reigning NWSL Shield and Championship winners Orlando push to make a statement.

"We are resilient. That is part of our identity. We never give up and we are always playing to win, and we always believe in ourselves," Pride defender Kylie Nadaner said following last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville.

More than just a clash between the top two teams in the NWSL standings, history shows very little love lost between these perennial heavy-hitters.

Last season, Orlando snapped KC's NWSL-record 17-game unbeaten streak on the Current's home turf, then took Kansas City down again in the pair's 2024 semifinal playoff match.

"We will remember the way they acted after the cameras were off," Current forward Michelle Cooper posted to social media after their July 2024 loss.

Kansas City has already issued some regular-season revenge on their way up the table this year, defeating the Pride 1-0 back in May.

How to watch Kansas City vs. Orlando this NWSL weekend

The No. 1 Current will kick off against the No. 2 Pride at 4 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on CBS.

NBA 2K is going all in on the WNBA, with the popular video game expanding its MyTEAM mode this week to allow athletes from both leagues to star on the same team when the 2K26 edition drops next month.

"MyTEAM is where competition meets a basketball fan's wildest imagination," explained Visual Concepts VP of NBA development Erick Boenisch. "By integrating the WNBA into one of our most popular modes, we're not only giving players the opportunity to customize their all-time dream rosters but shining a spotlight on some of the game's most iconic hoopers. We're looking forward to giving our players a new and deeper way to engage with the WNBA."

"Players can now mix and match current superstars and legends from both leagues, and compete with more dream lineup combinations than ever before," NBA 2K said in Thursday's release.

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"Pair Paige Bueckers with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, throw a lob from Sheryl Swoopes to Shaquille O'Neal, or run a pick-and-roll with Angel Reese and Carmelo Anthony," the franchise continued.

NBA 2K has ramped up its WNBA integration significantly since the league's debut in the 2K20 edition, expanding from Play Now and Season modes to the upcoming 2K26 version's virtual press conferences, pre-draft interviews, social media refreshes, and Top-10 player ratings.

How to buy the WNBA Edition of NBA 2K26

With Chicago Sky sophomore Angel Reese playing cover star, the WNBA Edition of NBA 2K26 will be sold exclusively in physical form at GameStop, dropping along with the other versions of the popular video game on September 5th.

Fans can purchase the WNBA version through the gaming retailer's presale now.