When Manchester United announced that Tobin Heath would be sidelined for 10-12 weeks with an ankle injury sustained in training, a significant blow was dealt to both the Reds and the U.S. Women’s National Team.

With the forward now rendered out for the next three months of the FAWSL season and the SheBelieves Cup, replicating Heath’s impact will prove a daunting task for both teams. But what exactly makes Heath an irreplaceable asset, and how will her loss be felt around the league?

 

TOBIN HEATH HAS BEEN AN IMPACT PLAYER FROM THE BEGINNING

As early as her college days, Tobin Heath was a standout player. Committing to the University of North Carolina in her junior year of high school, the up-and-coming star would go on to leave a lasting mark on the college soccer world. In her freshman year alone, she made 23 appearances for the Tar Heels, scoring four goals and assisting nine. In her sophomore and junior year, she combined for ten goals and thirteen assists, before wrapping up her senior season with five goals and ten assists.

With Heath’s help, UNC won three NCAA Division I championships in 2006, 2008, and 2009, as well as four ACC titles. Throughout her four years in Chapel Hill, Heath played alongside several future USWNT teammates, including Allie Long, Ashlyn Harris, and Jessica McDonald. She was also named the first runner-up for the MAC Hermann Trophy, an award presented to college soccer’s top player.

Upon concluding her impressive college career, Heath was selected first overall in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) draft by the Atlanta Beat. Unfortunately, Heath suffered an ankle injury in her third appearance with the team and missed the remainder of the season. She was later traded to Sky Blue FC, where she appeared in twelve matches for the team.

Upon the folding of the WPS, Heath spent time with the New York Fury and Paris Saint-Germain before finally landing with the Portland Thorns in 2013, where she quickly established herself as a franchise cornerstone.

 

A DOMINANT PLAYER FOR BOTH CLUB AND COUNTRY

In 70 appearances for the Thorns, Heath netted 13 goals and assisted another 21, all while leading Portland to two NWSL championships in 2013 and 2017 and an NWSL Shield in 2016. She also earned her fair share of individual awards, being named the NWSL Championship MVP in 2013 and recognized as a member of the NWSL Best XI in 2016, 2018, and 2019.

After Heath was left unprotected in the NWSL’s latest expansion draft, her rights were taken by Racing Louisville FC. Should she choose to leave Manchester United and return to the NWSL, she’ll be suiting up for the upstart franchise after a legendary stint with the Thorns. But though her NWSL achievements are impressive, they still pale in comparison to her accolades with the USWNT.

Louisville has selected Tobin Heath's Playing Rights in the 2020 @NWSL Expansion Draft.@TobinHeath has given so much to the Thorns since the beginning, and we will be forever thankful. ???? #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/RW9uAxmpyd

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) November 13, 2020

The 32-year-old has appeared in 169 matches for her country, in which she has scored 33 goals and logged 40 assists. Since making her debut with the USWNT in 2008, Heath has won two Olympic gold medals and two World Cup trophies, as well as two championship titles in the SheBelieves Cup. As a result of her efforts, she was named the US Soccer Female Athlete of the Year in 2016.

Needless to say, Tobin Heath has proven to be a valuable asset to any team fortunate enough to have her on their roster. This was especially evident when she joined Manchester United in September, her impact nearly instantaneous as she has notched four goals and two assists in only eight matches played.

???????????? pic.twitter.com/08VuOaKk1l

— Tobin Heath (@TobinHeath) July 8, 2019

As one can imagine, the news of Tobin Heath’s ankle injury took the soccer world by storm, leaving many to wonder not only who would step up to fill the void in United’s offense, but whether Heath’s injury would cost the club a chance at competing for a title.

Hopefully, some of these fears can be laid to rest following United’s handling of Everton last weekend, with goals from Christen Press and Ella Toone securing the 2-0 victory.

 

WHAT TOBIN HEATH BRINGS TO MAN UTD

United has relied on Heath’s quick thinking on and off the ball, as well as her ability to execute passes that lead to scoring opportunities, a skill she has only sharpened over the years. In eight appearances with the Red Devils, Heath boasts a 72.7% passing completion rate overall, completing 173 of 238 attempted passes.

Despite her ability to set up her teammates, it’s Heath shot which remains her most potent weapon. This year alone, she’s scored multiple jaw-dropping goals in a United uniform, some from beyond the eighteen.

OH MY @TobinHeath ???? pic.twitter.com/foCtDAJ7Jv

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) December 20, 2020

MY WORD TOBIN HEATH ????????

The @uswnt star scores a DAZZLING goal. pic.twitter.com/C0bQekko1D

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 14, 2020

It is likely that fellow United teammates Jess Sigsworth, Lauren James, Leah Galton, and Christen Press will shoulder the responsibility of accounting for Heath’s absence up top. Likewise, Press, Lynn Williams, Megan Rapinoe, and Carli Lloyd will be expected to take on a similar task during the SheBelieves Cup. Though the USWNT is full of elite talent, there is no player quite like Tobin Heath, and the pressure is on for Vlatko Adonovski as he searches for a placeholder.

 

THE IMPACT OF TOBIN HEATH’S INJURY ON THE FAWSL TITLE RACE

The domino effect of Heath’s injury certainly doesn’t end with the USWNT. In order for Manchester United to remain competitive in the FAWSL title race, Casey Stoney will also need someone to rise to the occasion… and fast. With a long road to recovery ahead, Heath is not expected to return to the pitch until April at the earliest. And though Manchester United has held onto their winning ways for now, they were recently leapfrogged by Chelsea for the top-spot in the league.

As the regular season progresses, Heath’s absence has the potential to drop United even further. But if they can at least keep pace with the other top FAWSL squads, Heath’s return could power the team on a closing sprint for the title.

With half of the Elite Eight now set, a few Big Ten underdogs still have a shot at disrupting the No. 1 seed stronghold at the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend.

The No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers are through to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 2-seed SMU 3-1 on Thursday, while the No. 4-seed Indiana Hoosiers, No. 3 seed-Wisconsin Badgers, and the still-undefeated overall No. 1 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers all face stiff Sweet Sixteen competition on Friday afternoon.

Coming off a strong regular season, the Big Ten could still field half of the quarterfinal round — though that would require the first No. 1-seed upset of the 2025 national tournament in the form of an Indiana victory over top-seeded Texas.

Bolstered by their defensive leader, senior middle blocker Madi Sell, the Hoosiers booked just their second-ever Sweet Sixteen trip with last week's win over No. 5 Colorado, with Indiana now hoping their lucky run continues against the 2022 and 2023 champion Longhorns.

Meanwhile, the No. 1 Huskers will look to keep rolling against No. 4-seed Kansas while the No. 3 Badgers aim to snag another Big Ten spot in the Elite Eight by ousting No. 2-seed Stanford on Friday.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend

The NCAA volleyball tournament's Sweet Sixteen action will wrap with four games on Friday, starting with No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Indiana at 12 PM ET.

The Elite Eight will then meet at the net on Saturday and Sunday to determine the last-standing teams heading to next week's Final Four in Kansas City.

All of this weekend's NCAA tournament games will air live across ESPN platforms.

Team USA is on a roll, officially taking the four-game 2025 Rivalry Series against Canada before the slate of friendlies is even over, with the US collecting three consecutive wins so far — and one shot left at making it a clean sweep.

The US downed their northern neighbors by a commanding 10-4 scoreline in Edmonton on Wednesday, marking Team USA's first-ever 10-goal victory against the reigning Olympic champs — all while upping the 2025 series' goal tally to 20-6.

While each team fine-tunes rosters ahead of the 2026 Olympics, one test remains for both international hockey titans before the Winter Games take the ice in February.

"The work doesn't stop. Our Olympic team is not named. There's still one more game to go," said USA captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, acknowledging that her squad is not taking their foot off the gas despite the recent lopsided results.

"We have one more game against them before the Olympics," echoed Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin. "We're all aware of that."

How to watch Team USA vs. Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series

The puck drops on the final match of the sixth annual hockey Rivalry Series between the USA and Canada in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will begin at 9 PM ET on the NHL Network.

The latest FIFA women's soccer rankings dropped on Thursday, with Spain widening their lead at No. 1 after winning a second consecutive UEFA Nations League title earlier this month.

The USWNT held steady at No. 2, ceding 7.48 points after losing an October friendly to No. 22 Portugal before going on to secure four straight wins over Portugal, No. 35 New Zealand, and No. 13 Italy to close out 2025.

Elsewhere in the FIFA Top 10, No. 3 Germany and No. 6 Brazil both saw boosts after successful fall runs, while Canada skidded to No. 10 amid a recent five-match winless streak, with Les Rouges's last victory coming against No. 43 Costa Rica last June.

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The biggest changes, however, occurred outside the top ranks, as No. 96 Nicaragua, No. 118 Burkina Faso, and No. 137 American Samoa all rose by 16 spots.

Notably, upcoming USWNT opponent Paraguay saw the largest drop in this month's Top 50, sliding five spots to No. 46.

Ultimately, as the USWNT battled to keep pace in a year of roster experimentation — and without a major competition on the team's 2025 docket — the many international competitions in Europe benefitted victors and challenged losers in this week's FIFA rankings update.

The No. 16 USC Trojans are gearing up for another top-ranked test, hosting the reigning national champion No. 1 UConn Huskies in the weekend's flashiest NCAA women's basketball matchup on Saturday.

Coming off their second ranked win of the season, USC topped No. 20 Washington 59-50 last Sunday, with 22 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Jazzy Davidson helping pull the Trojans to a 7-2 record.

"I saw a resolve in our team," said head coach Lindsay Gottlieb afterwards. "I knew we could get the next stop, I knew we could get the next play."

USC will face a particularly familiar foe against the Huskies — this time without sidelined star junior JuJu Watkins — after UConn knocked the Trojans out of the NCAA tournament two years in a row.

Notably, sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel departed USC over the summer for the Huskies, with the former Trojan averaging 7.7 points per game entering Saturday's clash with her old team.

"I just try to take one game at a time, but I'm excited to go back," Heckel said ahead of her first trip back to LA since transferring. "I had a great freshman year there, and I learned a lot, and it was a great experience, a lot of fond memories. So I'm looking forward to it."

How to watch No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 USC on Saturday

The Trojans will host the Huskies with tip-off set for 5:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will air on FOX.