New mom Crystal Dunn is ‘pretty close’ to returning to action with the USWNT

It’s been almost exactly a year since the last time Crystal Dunn was last in a U.S. national team camp. And as cliché as it is to say that no one knows that better than Dunn herself, in her case it matters to say so.

In those 12 months, Dunn has joined the national team’s lineage of mothers, giving birth to now-3-month-old son Marcel. She has watched a new generation of young rising stars make their marks on the program, including in roles where she has been a starter. And she has cheered on the signing of an equal pay collective bargaining agreement that she helped lead the fight for.

Now another big moment is approaching: her return to the field for club and country. It’s not here yet, but Dunn reached a marker on the way this week. She is back with the U.S. women’s team, taking part in training camp ahead of a two-game series with Nigeria. The teams will kick off in Kansas City, Kan., on Saturday (1 p.m., Fox29), then meet again Tuesday in Washington (6 p.m., ESPN2).

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“In the time that I’ve been gone, there’s been a lot of change, which is good,” Dunn told The Inquirer in an interview on Thursday. “Change sometimes obviously seems scary and uncertain, but I think part of the reason why I wanted to come into camp and train and be a part of the group is really to get to know a lot of the newer players that I actually don’t have really much of a relationship with yet. So just coming in, and really getting adjusted to the environment, but also getting adjusted to new teammates, was really important and a goal of mine.”

Last month, U.S. manager Vlatko Andonovski he said he expected Dunn to resume playing for the Portland Thorns and the national team later this year.

“She’s ahead of schedule, and she’s doing very well, and it’s important for her to start integrating back into the environment,” Andonovski said. “Crystal is someone who will be a very important player for us if she can get back into where she is close to her best, because of how good she is on the field. Also, her leadership qualities off the field will be important for the younger group that we have.”

Dunn, 30, said she has the same timeline in mind. So how close does she think she is to being ready?

“I’m pretty close,” she said. “I’m right at the end of being able to step foot on a field and be able to contribute in some minute form. But I think I’m not anywhere near 90 minutes fit at the moment, and that’s OK, and that’s exactly what my where my expectations were coming into this camp.”

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Asked whether the past year has gone by quickly or slowly, she reflected for a while.

“There were parts of my pregnancy that went by really slow, and there were parts that were like [the] blink of an eye, went by really fast,” she said.

Dunn made a point of being with the Thorns as much as she could, for the psychological side of things as much as the physical side.

“Once I found out I was pregnant and I knew I was going to be on this long journey, this pregnancy journey, it was really important for me to stay in and around my team,” she said. “There’s pictures of me out there 9½ months pregnant, still at training, still passing the ball around, still providing all that I can in the environment that I’m in. And I think that, to me, has made the journey quick.”

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Dunn’s teammates made light of the fact that she only took a month away from the field after giving birth. But when she felt ready, she didn’t hesitate to return.

“Getting used to being a new mom, obviously, that takes time — you really can’t do very much outside of the house,” she said. “Once a month went by, I was kind of like, ‘I’m ready. I’m physically at a point, and mentally at a point, emotionally at a point, where I was ready to go back into the locker room, go back to the stadium, and really try to support my team.’”

That was, she said, “exactly how I feel like I wanted to manage being a mom: being able to give my child everything that he needs, but also not losing a sense of who I am as a person and a player.”

It certainly helps that Dunn’s husband, Pierre Soubrier, is the Thorns’ athletic trainer. They’ve been together for quite some time now, having met when Dunn played for the Washington Spirit from 2014-16.

“Our relationship is really unique and special, and honestly a lot of the reasons that I’m where I am today and feeling the way I’m feeling today is because of him,” Dunn said. “I don’t say enough to him, but he is really the rock that really keeps me going. He put together an incredible plan that has allowed me to push and feel like an elite athlete again, but also understanding the concerns that come along with, you know, right after you give birth, your body’s not as as strong as it can be, so you can’t push too much.”

If Soubrier had a little insider knowledge on this patient, well, it was put to good use.

“He’s really great at his job,” Dunn said. “He put me on a good plan that ultimately got me back faster than most, and put me in a position where I actually can play some minutes this year and not have to kind of use the rest of the year to be like ‘OK, I’ll just wait it out and see what’s in store for me next year.’ That was a huge goal of mine, to be able to play some minutes in this year, and to finish 2022 on the best and highest note possible.”

Dunn’s return to the national team has been warmly received, as one would expect for one of the program’s most popular players. A Twitter video of Dunn dancing with Megan Rapinoe on the opening day of practice set fans alight, and fellow mother Alex Morgan offered a warm tribute in a news conference Thursday.

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“Just to see her on the field in U.S. training gear is so fun,” Morgan said. “To have another mom in camp — it’s, I think, the first time since I’ve been a mom in camp — that is pretty amazing. And to know that she’s come back to the national team, training with us at such a high level in just three months after giving birth, it’s amazing to see her level already.”

But what Dunn’s role will be when she returns to action is unclear. Will she play left back, where she was the starter under Jill Ellis and early in Andonovski’s tenure? Or will she play an attacking role as a midfielder or winger, her natural (and preferred) positions that Andonovski was starting to move her back to before the pregnancy?

Dunn’s answer for now is sensible: Let’s get back to playing games first.

“I can’t even fathom thinking about what’s in store for me if I’m not 100% back,” she said. “Vlatko obviously has a lot of incredible talent in this pool. It’s my job as a player to make the decisions as easy or hard for him as you want to look at it, but I think for me it’s [about] getting back fit and playing at my highest level and seeing what happens at that moment when I am back feeling my best self.”

And when the moment comes that Dunn wears the national crest inside the lines again, it will be as electric as any highlight in her career.

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“I dream a lot about this moment a lot, actually,” she said, knowing well that her legions of fans have done the same.

“I feel like one thing I’ve learned along this journey is, I’ve never given myself hardly any grace,” she continued. “I think I’m a player that enjoys the grind, enjoys working hard, and any bit of recognition I get, I really feel like I’ve worked so hard for it.”

This time, she will take it in.

“My first couple minutes back won’t be about me trying to steal the show or steal the spotlight,” she said. “It’ll be about embracing where I am, enjoying the journey, and just extending myself the grace of, I’m meeting myself exactly where I am in this moment.”