U.S. women’s soccer young star Catarina Macario will miss Olympics with ‘minor knee irritation’

HARRISON, N.J. — Catarina Macario, one of the U.S. women’s soccer team’s top young attacking stars, will miss the Olympics because of what manager Emma Hayes termed “minor knee irritation” that is too painful to travel with.

It’s brutal news for the 24-year-old, who can play as a forward or attacking midfielder, and not just because of the present moment. Macario missed nearly two full years of action, including what would have been her first World Cup last year, after suffering an ACL tear in June 2022.

“She trained the other day, but she’d had some irritation leading up to that, and it reacted,” Hayes said at a news conference Friday at Red Bull Arena, where the Americans will play Mexico in an Olympics warmup game on Saturday (3:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock).

“Gutted to have to withdraw from the Olympic roster and not be able to represent Team USA,” Macario said on social media. “I will be supporting the team every step of the way and the girls are ready.”

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Macario will return to her club team, England’s Chelsea, to rehab and prepare for the next season, which begins in late September. Coincidentally, Chelsea will visit the U.S. in late August for preseason games at Gotham FC (Aug. 19) and vs. Arsenal in Washington (Aug. 25); it’s not clear if Macario will be back by then.

“Her welfare comes first,” Hayes said. “She’s done everything she can and she’s devastated, but it’s not a long-term situation. Just not going to recover in time for the Olympics.”

It especially stings for Hayes because she was Chelsea’s manager for 12 years until taking the U.S. job, and signed Macario to the club last summer.

“Considering everything that Cat’s been through, it’s important she goes back to Chelsea,” Hayes said. “I’m absolutely gutted for Cat, someone I’ve worked hard with in the last 12 months. She’s really put a shift in to get there, but it’s not to be, and I know the team certainly want to give her our best support.”

Though Macario can play as an attacking midfielder or forward, she was listed on the Olympic roster as a midfielder, implying that’s where Hayes would put her first. The other attacking midfielders on the squad are veteran Rose Lavelle, who’s now likely the starter – she probably would have been for some games anyway – and major-tournament debutante Jaedyn Shaw, who can play centrally or as a winger.

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Lavelle had a slow start to this year because of a lower leg injury suffered with the U.S. at the Concacaf Gold Cup in the late winter. She didn’t play for Gotham FC, the NWSL team she joined this year, until late April, and she worked off to the side at practice earlier this week because of what a U.S. spokesperson called “load management.”

That term, of course, needs no introduction in Philadelphia. But when Lavelle met with the media before practice Friday, she said she was “feeling good, ready to rumble,” and she looked the part as a full participant in a short-field scrimmage.

“I think with this team, we have a lot of depth, so everybody’s ready to step up when called upon,” said Lavelle, who’s been a superstar since her title-clinching goal in the 2019 World Cup final. “Obviously, we’re devastated for Cat. I think she’s such a huge piece of this team. … But this team has always [been] ‘next man up,’ and I think we have a lot of talent.”

There are now just four midfielders officially listed in the 18-player group. Many of the other 14 are versatile – forward Crystal Dunn has played midfield often at club level, and defender Emily Sonnett has done so for the national team – but the numbers are noticeable.

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Veteran forward Lynn Williams, one of the U.S. team’s alternates, moved to the full squad. Defender Emily Sams of the NWSL-leading Orlando Pride became an alternate to fill the hole.

If any midfielders are injured in France, attacking midfielder Croix Bethune and defensive midfielder Hal Hershfelt are also among the alternates.

“If you know the way I develop teams, I’ll always have a solution,” Hayes said. “The challenge of making that work is one that I enjoy, and I know I will.”

Hayes described Sams as “a top performer in the league and someone who’s been outstanding in the last two training sessions, and someone who’s got the ability to play both fullback [and] centerback, and that will give us some other options elsewhere.”

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Alternates travel with the team but can’t play unless there’s an injury. The IOC and FIFA decided recently that if an injured player misses a game at the Olympics, she (or he, as it applies to the men’s tournament too) can come back to the active squad for the next game.

“I always viewed it as 22 [players], and with the rule changes as such, absolutely nothing changes,” Hayes said. “What does change is that without Cat, I have to think about some different permutations for the team, which I’ve already reflected on. And for us it’s about now looking toward that, and making sure that everybody else knows what those adjustments might be.”

Times listed are Philadelphia time. All of NBC’s video streaming of the Olympics is available free with pay-TV provider authentication at NBCOlympics.com, or via subscription on Peacock.

Saturday, July 13: Warmup game vs. Mexico at Harrison, N.J. (3:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock)

Tuesday, July 16: Warmup game vs. Costa Rica at Washington (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, Peacock)

Thursday, July 25: Group stage vs. Zambia at Nice, France (3 p.m., USA Network, Universo, Peacock)

Sunday, July 28: Group stage vs. Germany at Marseille, France (3 p.m., USA Network, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Wednesday, July 31: Group stage vs. Australia at Marseille (1 p.m., E!, Universo, Peacock)

Saturday, Aug. 3: Quarterfinal at Paris if group winner (9 a.m., E!, Telemundo 62, Peacock); Marseille if runner-up (1 p.m., Telemundo 62, Peacock); or Lyon (11 a.m., E!, Universo, Peacock) or Nantes (3 p.m., English TBD, Universo, Peacock) if a third-place qualifier

Tuesday, Aug. 6: Semifinal at Lyon if group winner or runner-up (E!, Universo, Peacock); or Marseille if a third-place qualifier (3 p.m., English TBD, Universo, Peacock)

Friday, Aug. 9: Bronze medal game at Lyon (9 a.m., USA Network, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Saturday, Aug. 10: Gold medal game at Paris (11 a.m., USA Network, Telemundo 62, Peacock)