USWNT manager Emma Hayes dropped a big piece of roster news on Friday, with Chelsea star forward Catarina Macario officially ruled out for the 2024 Paris Olympics due to "consistent irritation in her right knee."

The roster shakeup comes the day before the USWNT begins a series of two send-off friendlies leading up to the Olympics. In the wake of the injury, forward Lynn Williams will now be elevated from an alternate to a fully rostered player, with defender Emily Sams moving from training player to Olympic alternate.

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Macario's original injury dates to 2022

In June 2022, Macario suffered an ACL tear in her left knee while playing for former club team Olympique Lyonnais.

Before the injury, the Stanford University standout featured on the USWNT's expanded Tokyo Olympics roster in 2021. She went on to win the 2022 Champions League title with Lyon before being sidelined the following month.

The 24-year-old continued to rehab the injury, sitting out the 2023 World Cup. She returned to the USWNT for the first time since 2022 this past April. After helping lead the US to victory at the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, Macario took the pitch again for the USWNT's June friendlies.

Looking to the future, Hayes called Macario's knee "not a long-term situation, just not going to recover in time for the Olympics" in Friday's announcement.

Pre-Olympic USWNT friendlies kick off

This Saturday, the newly formatted Olympic lineup with square off against Mexico in New Jersey.

It will be the first time the two teams have met since Mexico upset the US in the Concacaf W Gold Cup group stage earlier this year. Since then, the US hasn't lost a single match, going 5-0-2 and picking up trophies at the Gold Cup as well as SheBelieves Cup.

The USWNT's 18-player Olympic roster will take center stage this week, while alternates and training players joined the team at camp leading up to the friendlies. Training players Alyssa Thompson and Kate Wiesner will return to their NWSL squads prior to Saturday's USWNT friendly.

Many of the players on the US Olympic roster have just recently left their NWSL teams for the Olympic break, while three European club players — Lindsey Horan (Lyon), Korbin Albert (PSG), and Emily Fox (Arsenal) — have spent the last six weeks off the pitch.

A new USWNT paves its Olympic path

The pre-Olympic series will likely see goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher return to the starting XI, after a hamstring injury kept her out of a pair of June friendlies.

The matches will also provide an initial glimpse of a USWNT without longtime star Alex Morgan, who was not selected to play in this year's Summer Games. Morgan's absence will impact the frontline, with Sophia Smith most likely to take over at center forward.

Speaking from USWNT training camp, Naeher expressed positivity about this year's Olympic team.

"I just feel an energy shift — I've just feel like a joy and excitement of from the group," she said. "I think that's really exciting to come back into after being gone from it for a camp."

The US will play a second friendly in Washington, DC on Tuesday against fellow Concacaf competitor Costa Rica. For a team looking to redeem their international standing after a disappointing World Cup run, these next two outings will serve as a chance to develop the chemistry necessary to hit the ground running in Paris later this month.

USWNT and Chelsea FC star Catarina Macario inked a 10-year, $10 million contract with Nike on Tuesday, securing one of the most lucrative sponsorship deals in the women's game.

Macario started her pro career as an Adidas athlete, but swapped brands after battling back from a long-term knee injury to win a domestic treble with WSL side Chelsea this year.

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The Brazilian-born US national is also starring in Nike's "Scary Good" ad campaign, a series of short films that "pay homage to the horror and satire of late-night television with a cast of the game's most dominant attackers."

Other soccer stars joining Macario in the sportswear giant's short film series are Spain's two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas and winger Salma Paralluelo, Brazil's Kerolin, and Germany's Giulia Gwinn, as well as Macario's Chelsea teammate, Australian national Sam Kerr.

"Nike has always been a part of my journey — from Surf to Stanford, to the USWNT and now Chelsea FC," Macario said in Tuesday's press release.

"Now, to be officially with the brand feels incredible. Not only because I get to join a team of football legends that have influenced my style of play since the beginning, but because I believe Nike represents the fearless spirit I try to bring with me every time I step on the pitch."

Women's soccer is blowing up on the sponsorship front, with payouts jumping from Norwegian superstar Ada Hegerberg's $1.1 Nike deal in 2020 to this week's blockbuster Macario signing.

How to watch Macario in her "Scary Good" Nike film

Catarina Macario's "Scary Good" film — dubbed "The Cold-Blooded Clinic" — will drop on July 16th on Nike Football's YouTube channel.

Two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner is coming home, rejoining the Phoenix Mercury after parting ways with the Indiana Fever late last month.

Bonner is back with the team that originally drafted her as the fifth overall pick in 2009, inking a slightly above-minimum prorated veteran contract for the remainder of the 2025 season.

"It's home. I know I'm going to get the love and the support," Bonner said, reuniting with fiancée Alyssa Thomas on the second-place WNBA squad.

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After spending her first 10 seasons with the Mercury, Phoenix traded Bonner to the Sun in February 2020.

The six-time All-Star forward spent five seasons alongside Thomas in Connecticut, helping the Sun to at least the WNBA semifinals in each of those years.

The Fever then signed Bonner as a free agent ahead of the 2025 season, with the 37-year-old later departing the team for personal reasons after just nine games with Indiana.

Bonner missed five games before the the Fever officially waived her on June 25th, as the renewed free agent reportedly eyed a move back to Phoenix.

"We couldn't be more excited to have DeWanna back in a Mercury uniform," Phoenix GM Nick U'Ren said in a statement. "She is a true winner, leader and one of the most talented and versatile players in our game."

Indiana star Caitlin Clark is officially back in action, making her return to the court in Wednesday's Fever clash with Golden State to mark her first WNBA minutes since June 24th.

While the No. 6 Valkyries took the 80-61 win on Wednesday, Clark was able to log 25 minutes as well as put up 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds in her return from injury.

Prior to this season, the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year had not missed a game since her sophomore year of high school in 2017.

Wednesday's return capped a five-game stretch with Clark out with a groin strain — the most recent knock to the WNBA sophomore after a quad strain sidelined her for two weeks earlier this season.

"It's obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I'm excited to get out there," the guard told reporters on Tuesday.

While Indiana's loss did not impact their No. 7 spot on the league table, Wednesday's other major matchups could have deeper implications for the WNBA standings:

• No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 2 Phoenix Mercury, 3:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The WNBA's top two teams will square off Wednesday afternoon, as a steady Lynx team meets a rejuvenated Mercury hot off a revenge win over Dallas on Monday.

• No. 11 Dallas Wings vs. No. 12 Chicago Sky, 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Young phenoms duke it out as the Sky honor 2021 WNBA champ and new retiree Allie Quigley — and hope to avenge Tuesday’s close loss to Washington by downing the Wings.

The 2025 WNBA All-Star teams are set, as captains Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark drafted the 20 other honored players into their final rosters live on ESPN on Tuesday night.

The draft began with the two captains selecting from the eight-player pool of fan-voted starters, before Clark and Collier each chose six athletes from the group of 12 All-Star reserves.

Both the Minnesota forward and the Indiana guard prioritized selecting their WNBA teammates, with Collier successfully grabbing Lynx guard Courtney Williams as one of her reserves while Clark's first picks in each category were fellow Fever players in starter Aliyah Boston and reserve player Kelsey Mitchell.

Collier also decided to keep her fellow UConn Huskies close, tapping alums Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers for her starting lineup — though she failed to pull off a trade for third alum Gabby Williams.

"I tried 😭 they didn't show that part lol," the Lynx star posted to X after the draft, referencing her attempt to roster Williams.

While Collier's strategy was to snag current and former teammates, as well as players with whom she has Unrivaled or collegiate ties, Clark approached the draft with less of a plan.

"I'm going on vibes. I'm picking whatever comes to mind. We're just having fun," joked Clark, promising "my team is going to be fun."

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All-Star draft's lone trade sees head coach swap

Despite a handful of trade offers, the only swap of the Tuesday draft didn't end up involving players at all, as the All-Star leaders agreed to switch head coaches.

Coaching assignments follow fan votes and team records, with the top All-Star vote-getter paired with the coach of the league's No. 1 team, while the No. 2 team coach leads the squad captained by the player who garnered the second-most votes.

As such, Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve was initially assigned to Team Clark, with Collier's squad led by New York boss Sandy Brondello.

Following both Collier's strategy of prior connections and, perhaps, Clark's emphasis on vibes, the pair agreed to switch sideline leaders, keeping the Lynx lineup together and sending the reigning WNBA champion to helm Clark's crew.

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The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game rosters

Team Clark:

• Starters: Aliyah Boston (Indiana), Sabrina Ionescu (New York), A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas), Satou Sabally (Phoenix)
• Reserves: Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana), Gabby Williams (Seattle), Sonia Citron (Washington), Kiki Iriafen (Washington), Jackie Young (Las Vegas), Kayla Thornton (Golden State)
• Head coach: Sandy Brondello (New York)

Team Collier:

• Starters: Breanna Stewart (New York), Allisha Gray (Atlanta), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle), Paige Bueckers (Dallas)
• Reserves: Courtney Williams (Minnesota), Skylar Diggins (Seattle), Angel Reese (Chicago), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix), Kelsey Plum (LA), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta)
• Head coach: Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota)

How to watch the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

Team Collier and Team Clark will square off in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on July 19th.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.