Rose Lavelle, a fixture in the U.S. women’s national team midfield, will not appear in the final Summer Series game against Nigeria.
Head coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters that Lavelle would miss Wednesday night’s matchup as a precautionary measure.
No Rose Lavelle for #USWNT game against Nigeria, Vlatko says they're just being careful. Also on Tobin Heath recovery, she's "not 100% included in everything that we do but we include her as much as possible."— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) June 15, 2021
No Rose Lavelle for #USWNT game against Nigeria, Vlatko says they're just being careful. Also on Tobin Heath recovery, she's "not 100% included in everything that we do but we include her as much as possible."
The USWNT midfielder exited the team’s game on Sunday against Jamaica after rolling her ankle and was able to walk to the locker room unassisted. The 26-year-old’s career has been fraught with injuries, most notably a nagging hamstring injury she had to manage during the 2019 World Cup.
The national team’s midfield is already without Julie Ertz, who missed the June camp after suffering an MCL injury during a game with the Chicago Red Stars. Without Ertz and Lavelle, the USWNT will have a chance to test its roster depth ahead of the Olympics, with Kristie Mewis, Catarina Macario and Andi Sullivan waiting in the wings.
The USWNT faces Nigeria on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.