Cat Macario to miss Olympics for U.S. with knee injury

HARRISON, N.J. -- Forward Catarina Macario will miss the Olympics with what United States women's national team head coach Emma Hayes called "knee irritation" that developed during training this week.

Forward Lynn Williams, who participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2023 World Cup, will replace Macario on the USWNT's 2024 Olympic roster.

Defender Emily Sams will assume Williams' place as one of four alternates for the USWNT.

Sams had been training with the USWNT this week. All those moves are still pending approval from the International Olympic Committee, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and FIFA, since the deadline for final rosters has already passed.

"She's devastated," Hayes said of Macario. "It's not a long-term situation; [she's] just not going to recover in time.

Macario tore an ACL with her old club team, Lyon, in May 2022 and was sidelined for a year and a half. She missed last year's World Cup as a result.

In a message shared on her social media on Friday, Macario wrote that she was "Gutted to have to withdraw from the Olympic roster and not be able to represent Team USA. I will be supporting the team every step of the way and the girls are ready ❤️" 

She made her comeback with Chelsea earlier this year, and she returned to the field for the USWNT in April at the SheBelieves Cup, marking her first appearance for her country in two years.

Williams said she hoped Macario would recover quickly.

"I think two things can be possible at one time. You can be devastated for a teammate and also excited for yourself at the same time," she said Friday. "But right now, I'm not necessarily thinking, 'Oh, I'm excited for myself.' I'm thinking, 'How can I help the team? What does the team need from me?'

"I think that was my role as an alternate to begin with: It's staying ready and being ready when called upon. Obviously, I'm devastated for Cat.

"It's such a unique experience being in this group. It's the people that you're competing with to be on a team but also the people that understand the experience that most, the hardship the most. Obviously, Cat is going to need a second to digest this, but [I'm'] sending her all the love and hugs."

Hayes stressed that the team would adjust. 

"I always viewed it as 22, and with the rule changes, absolutely nothing changes," she 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. For us, it's about now looking towards that and making sure that everybody else knows what those adjustments might be."

Hayes said she would count on Williams' experience to help the team. 

"I'm sort of a straight-up person, and she's a straight-up person, so it works really well," Hayes said of Williams. "We've been really honest from the get-go. She's been a delight to be around. I told her this last night: She seems really calm. She's been here before, and I think because she's been here before, she's calm and can handle whatever's there. She will always remind me her job is to make my life difficult."

After a disappointing finish in the Women's World Cup last summer, the United States will embark on its first major tournament under new coach Hayes.

The former Chelsea coach has only two tuneup matches before the team's Olympics opener against Zambia in Nice on July 25. 

Olympics women's soccer starts with a round-robin group stage followed by a knockout round. The women alternate days with the men's soccer competition at cities across France.

The group stage opens July 25. There are three groups of four teams.

Group A includes France, Canada, Colombia and New Zealand. Group B includes the United States, Zambia, Germany and Australia.

Group C includes Spain, Japan, Nigeria and Brazil.

The quarterfinals are Aug. 3 and the semifinals Aug. 6.

The bronze medal match will be played in Lyon on Aug. 9, and the gold medal match is Aug. 10 in Paris.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.