U.S. national team attacker Catarina Macario will miss the team's upcoming friendlies at Sweden and France due to Covid-19 restrictions, U.S. Soccer has confirmed.
Macario's club side Lyon have experienced several cases of coronavirus recently and though Macario herself hasn't tested positive, she is currently under quarantine.
The USWNT will take on Sweden on April 10 followed by a match against France on April 13.
What was said?
“While Cat has not tested positive, she is currently in the required quarantine period, and by the time she is able meet those requirements, travel to Sweden, and go through our Covid protocols, it would be right before the first game, and she wouldn’t have trained for a solid 10 days,” U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski said in a federation release.
“We only have a few trainings during this trip, so we felt it was in Cat’s best interest for her to remain in Lyon and make sure she ramps her fitness back up with her club once her quarantine ends.”
An outbreak in Lyon
Lyon saw this week's Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain postponed due to six confirmed cases within the club's camp.
The second-leg quarter-final will now take place on April 18 after defending champions Lyon won the first leg 1-0.
After the match was postponed, Lyon confirmed a further four positive cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 10 among players and staff. The entire team is now in quarantine.
Setback for Macario
Missing the USWNT's friendlies will come as a blow to Macario, who is pushing to make the Olympics roster after only making her international debut in January.
Born in Brazil, Macario moved to the U.S. at age 12 and was cleared to play for the U.S. by FIFA in January.
The 21-year-old has made three total appearances for the USWNT, scoring one goal.
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