When U.S. women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski announced his squad’s roster for the upcoming friendly matches against Germany, he also provided updates on 10 players who have been absent, including some predictions of when fans can expect their returns.

Julie Ertz

It’s been more than a year since soccer fans have seen Ertz on the field. The 30-year-old midfielder gave birth to a son in early August, and the team is not rushing her into a comeback, Andonovski said.

The coach also did not offer a possible timetable.

“She’s enjoying motherhood and she’s happy and doing a great job at it,” he said. “We want to give Julie time to get back slowly. We won’t even discuss it. This is time for Julie to enjoy time with her family, and when the time comes, if she is anywhere near her best, this team will welcome her back.”

Catarina Macario

The 23-year-old midfielder tore her ACL in June and underwent surgery soon afterward. She is expected to return in early 2023 after at least six months of recovery.

She is working on her recovery at a FIFA rehab center in Qatar, Andonovski said.

“She has been recovering very well,” he said. “Last week she started doing some running and jumping for the first time. … As of right now it is hard to predict exactly when she will be back. We do have some idea based on how the progress is going.”

Andonovski anticipates having Macario back in February, as long as there are no setbacks in her rehab process, he said. Macario provided a similar timeline last week, saying she “would like to start ramping it up in February and March and just go from there.”

Tierna Davidson

Another player battling an ACL injury, Davidson sustained her tear during an April training session ahead of the NWSL season. The 24-year-old was the youngest player to represent the United States in the 2019 World Cup when she was 20.

Davidson has the potential to return for the 2023 World Cup, Andonovski said — and if she does, the defender has the ability to be a starter.

“She is looking really good,” he said. “We expect her to be back in full in the middle of November.”

Abby Dahlkemper

Dahlkemper is recovering from a third consecutive injury. She missed the SheBelieves Cup in February with a back injury, then broke two ribs in May. Just before the San Diego Wave competed in their NWSL quarterfinal, the team announced Dahlkemper would miss the playoffs with a back injury.

The 29-year-old defender played in just eight regular-season matches for the Wave, and Andonovski said her return will take a while yet, as her latest back injury requires surgery.

“We are just hoping everything goes well,” he said. “We will know more about what the return is going to be for her once she has the surgery.”

Casey Krueger

The 32-year-old defender gave birth to a baby boy in July, and Andonovski said Krueger is in the same situation as Ertz: The team wants to give her as much time as she wants to recover and enjoy motherhood.

Krueger has been training, though, and she worked out with her NWSL squad this month.

“She actually did some training with Chicago Red Stars before they got eliminated, and she is in training with a group of players from Chicago even after the season,” Andonovski said.

Emily Sonnett

After sustaining a foot injury during the Concacaf W Championship, Sonnett remains out for the rest of 2022.

Andonovski does expects the 28-year-old defender to be available for selection in January, he said.

Kelley O’Hara

O’Hara continues to rehab a nagging hip injury after missing September’s friendlies against Nigeria as well as October’s trip to England and Spain. The 34-year-old defender is working through physical therapy and should be available in January as well, Andonovski said.

Lynn Williams

The forward tore her hamstring during the NWSL preseason and has been out ever since.

The 29-year-old had a slight setback to her recovery, according to Andonovski, but he also anticipates her return in January.

Tobin Heath

The OL Reign forward suffered a season-ending injury in September and had surgery on her left knee shortly after that. Andonovski said she is “recovering,” but the coach didn’t provide any other details.

Christen Press

After playing just eight games for Angel City FC to start the NWSL season, Press tore her ACL. The 33-year-old forward missed the remainder of the year.

Andonovski expects her return to be in line or slightly behind that of Macario, he said.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.