United States women’s national team forward Trinity Rodman is in line to return from a back injury when the Washington Spirit hosts Racing Louisville in the NWSL on Sunday.
Rodman has been absent since she left the field in a wheelchair during the Spirit’s 3-0 loss to the Kansas City Current on Sept. 20.
But the 22-year-old was not listed on the team’s injury report ahead of the match with Louisville after coach Jonatan Giráldez suggested Rodman, along with defender Casey Krueger and forward Chloe Ricketts, were in contention to make their returns.
“As always, I don’t want to say 100% because we have to train tomorrow,” Giráldez told reporters Friday. “One training session is [left], and I want to, tomorrow, confirm that 100%.
“I can tell you that Casey, Trin, Chloe, they are in good shape. And tomorrow, we’ll decide, but the roster for sure will be bigger if we compare with the last week.”
Following her injury last month, Rodman’s agent, Mike Senkowski, was reported by The Washington Post as saying the player had an “intense back spasm.”
She has since missed two games for the Spirit, with Giráldez insisting he wanted to be sure Rodman was 100% recovered.
Without Rodman, Washington was beaten 2-0 by the Orlando Pride last week in a top-of-the-table battle that saw the Pride clinch the NWSL Shield.
Rodman’s eight goals this season rank tied for fourth in the NWSL with teammate Ouleymata Sarr and Brazil great Marta. Rodman is also tied for third in the NWSL with six assists. She is likely to be a finalist for the 2024 NWSL MVP award.
No player has been a more consistent fixture with the U.S. women’s national team since the start of 2023. Rodman is the only player to have appeared in every USWNT game in the past two calendar years, and she was one of the stars of the USWNT’s run to an Olympic gold medal last month.
Rodman scored three goals for the USWNT at the 2024 Olympics, including the extra-time winner in the 1-0 victory over Japan in the quarterfinals.
The return of Rodman will be a welcome boost after the team lost USWNT midfielder Andi Sullivan for the rest of the the year with a torn ACL this week.
