Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
The injury that has kept Alex Morgan largely out of action since October is not progressing as fast as she would hope.
Speaking to reporters as the Portland Thorns began preparing for the start of NWSL’s second season, Morgan gave an update on her left ankle, saying she does not know when she will be able to return to the field. U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni told SBI last month that Morgan was set to undergo an MRI scan in March that would be revealing in terms of the star forward’s recovery, but Morgan made no mention of it and strictly said that she is healing albeit not at the pace that she would prefer.
“I’m still trying to get back on the field, I’m still trying to get running,” said Morgan. “We’re progressing but obviously a little slower than I’d like. As of right now, there’s no real timeline to my recovery. I’ve learned that over the course of the last couple of months that I can’t put a timeline on it.
“It’s a very rare and unique injury, so we’re trying to treat it as well as possible and I’m looking forward to getting on the field whenever I can.”
The injury, which Morgan said is a stress reaction in her talus bone, has kept the 24-year-old striker out of several recent U.S. camps and looks set to force her to miss Portland’s start of the NWSL season in April.
“The longest injury I have ever been out for is my ACL and now this is creeping up as one of the longest injuries I’ve ever been out for, so it’s really hard,” said Morgan. “Mentally it’s challenging to stay positive, but I’ve just had a lot of support, with coaches, medical staff, family, so it’s been really nice to have that support. Hopefully we can continue to heal it right and I’ll be back on the field as fast as I can.”
Sermanni and the rest of the U.S. squad are surely hoping for that, especially after seeing their undefeated streak end with a two-game losing streak in the Algarve Cup and with World Cup qualifying for the 2015 tournament fast approaching.
“This entire Algarve Cup is definitely not what we wanted moving forward into World Cup qualifiers later this year,” said Morgan. “Hopefully we can sort everything out now and hopefully I can get back in with the team soon enough. I think the girls are a little bit down in Portugal right now, but I think Tom and the coaching staff and the players all need to get together and work something out because the lineup changes could be a factor, but again I want them to stay positive.
“I’ve gotten a lot of texts and calls from them and I really hope to be back with them soon, but they’re going through a rough time and so I hope they pick it back up.”
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