USWNT star Christen Press provides update on ACL injury & 2023 Women's World Cup hopes

• Press out since June 2022 with ACL injury
• Now in 'final stretch' of recovery
• Still hopes to make USWNT's World Cup roster

WHAT HAPPENED? Press has not played since June of last year after suffering an ACL injury in Angel City's 3-2 win over Racing Louisville in the NWSL. While the recovery time is usually around nine months, the two-time World Cup winner has had a complicated road back, with three knee surgeries required.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking on ESPN show Futbol Americas, Press provided a positive update on her situation, saying: "It has been a unique recovery journey. I've had some setbacks and I've had some ups and downs. I think that's normal. I think this took a bit longer than I had hoped up until now. But I'm in the final stretch of my recovery. I'm starting to feel like myself again, getting my body back. Hopefully I'll be joining the team soon."

Asked if she still has hopes of making the USWNT's World Cup roster, with the tournament less than three months away, Press said: "There has never been a moment where I lost hope or took my focus off of the World Cup from the moment that I got injured until now. It's the North Star for all of us professional players and it's a motivation.

"Obviously, the timing is really tough but I'm doing everything I can to get back as quickly as possible because it would be a dream come true to represent my country again at that level."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The USWNT has an incredibly competitive forward pool, something head coach Vlatko Andonovski noted last summer when discussing Press' omission from his CONCACAF Women's Championship squad. That said, when the 34-year-old is fit and firing, she is one of the world's deadliest and would be an obvious asset to any team, particularly with her experience on top of that talent.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? Press will hope to be back on the pitch as soon as possible with Angel City in order to show the form that can get her on the plane to this summer's World Cup, albeit while still making sure she completes her recovery as strongly as possible after such a complicated 11 months to date.