Catarina Macario injury update: USWNT star won’t debut for Chelsea until 2024 as ACL recovery drags on

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It was thought that Catarina Macario, one of the U.S. women’s national team’s brightest young stars, could be back from her torn ACL back in April of this year. It’s now November, and she has yet to step back on the pitch.

The 23-year-old came off after 13 minutes of Lyon’s final league match of the 2021/22 season against Issy on June 1 last summer, and four days later confirmed that she had suffered a torn left ACL in what was a meaningless match.

It’s been a long recovery for the USWNT star, and the national team has definitely felt her absence in the attacking third.

“Unfortunately, injuries are a natural part of football,” Macario wrote in a social media post announcing her injury last summer. “Tearing an ACL is never easy, and although I am devastated to be away from the field and my teammates for a few months, I could not be more proud of my first year as a professional footballer and to have helped the team reconquer two big titles this season.

Macario joined Women’s Super League giants Chelsea this past summer, but has yet to make her debut for the club.

While there was hope that Macario would return in time to take part in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, there’s no fears that her return to action could cause issues with her ability to ramp back up to fitness in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics a full year later.

MORE: Why female athletes are more prone to ACL tears than men, and what is being done to keep women safe

pic.twitter.com/x9nfMn7LnD

— Catarina Macario (@catarinamacario) June 5, 2022

When will Catarina Macario return from torn ACL?

According to USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski in early February ahead of the 223 SheBelieves Cup, Cat Macario was in “return to play protocol” and could be back in the national team fold by April. She was prepping for an imminent return alongside a host of other big-name international teammates.

Vlatko Andonovski says players who could be back on the field for the #USWNT in the April FIFA window include: Catarina Macario, Sophia Smith (more than could, should), Kelley O’Hara, Christen Press and Tobin Heath.

— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) February 1, 2023

That feels like a distant memory now. In mid-November of 2023, Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes, who is set to take over for the USWNT once the season concludes, stated that Macario would likely not be back before the start of the 2024 calendar year.

“I don’t think so,” Hayes said when asked by Forbes if Macario would be able to return for any of Chelsea’s four remaining league games in the 2023 calendar year. “I don’t think she’ll play this half of the season. I hope (she can) and if she does it will be a bonus. But I don’t think with the time she’s been out that we would take that risk.

“Listen you have to understand, when you’ve been out a long time, this isn’t about me withholding something, this is about the recognition that – with all the will in the world – you can’t just put a player on the grass with a knee history, and sometimes if the knee blows up, you then have to come back off it again.”

Upon suffering the injury in June of 2022, Macario was aiming for a February 2023 return. On October 31, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski stated in a press conference that “If she doesn’t have any setbacks, we can see Cat back on the field in late February.”

Also back in that same October, Macario told Julie Foudy’s podcast Laughter Permitted that her recovery is going well. “I’m starting to do some more movements and feeling a little bit more like myself again,” she said. “Like I’m somewhat of an athlete,” she said, “So that’s cool.” Macario also stated that her goal is to return in time for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which now seems highly likely.

The typical recovery time from a torn ACL for soccer players is 8-12 months, but it can also depend on the extent of the tear and subsequent surgery, as well as other factors during the recovery process. Macario’s ACL tear was the second suffered by a key player for her old club Lyon in a short span, with Dzsenifer Marozsan also picking up the same injury in May while on international duty with Germany.

How was Catarina Macario injured with Lyon?

In the ninth minute of Lyon’s season-ending D1 Feminine match against Issy, Macario went down with an injury, substituted off five minutes later after lengthy treatment. The USWNT star would eventually confirm the injury as a torn ACL, leaving her sidelined for the coming months.

The injury took place while taking an off-balance shot, whipping a right-footed shot that was blocked by her defender. The Brazilian-born star then immediately fell to the ground clutching her left knee. The broadcast’s replay did not clearly show what happened, but it appeared that Macario’s twisting shot may have caused her to land awkwardly or somehow twist her leg, triggering the injury.

The match was a meaningless affair, with Lyon having already confirmed themselves league champions weeks prior, finishing the season 11 points clear at the top of the 12-team table, collecting 64 points across a 22-match season, with 21 wins and one draw, amassing a +71 goal differential. PSG finished second with 53 points.

How much time has Catarina Macario missed with torn ACL?

With the typical 8-12 month recovery time for a torn ACL long since passed, Cat Macario has missed significant time for both club and country.

Macario missed the entirety of Lyon’s 2022/23 season, joining Chelsea in the summer while she continued to recover.

For the U.S. national team, Macario missed the CONCACAF W Championship tournament, which ran from July 4-8. The competition doubled as 2023 Women’s World Cup qualifying and 2024 Summer Olympics qualification. The USWNT won the competition in Macario’s absence, defeating Canada 1-0 in the final.

That result secured qualification to the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Macario’s participation in the Women’s World Cup was thought possible, or even likely, but eventually it just would not materialize. “While I’m excited and super optimistic about my future as a footballer, I’m sad to share that I won’t be physically ready for selection to our U.S. World Cup team,” Macario wrote on social media, announcing her inability to participate.

She has yet to debut for Chelsea as of mid-November, with the Blues leading the league through the first six games of the campaign. Macario was not included on Chelsea’s UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage roster, meaning she won’t be eligible to participate in any of those six matches against Real Madrid, Paris FC, or BK Hacken, although she could potentially be added to the roster for the knockout stage if she recovers in time.

The 2024 Olympics begin on July 24, and Macario’s participation in that event could be stunted or nullified if she’s not returned to full fitness or form by that time. In order to be part of the USWNT squad for that major tournament, Macario would not only have to return to the pitch and be fully match fit, but would also need to reintegrate herself to the squad and prove to the new coaching staff she is at the level required to be a key contributor.

Catarina Macario’s rise with Lyon & USWNT

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the women’s game over the last two years, establishing herself as a star presence for both a Champions League winner (Lyon) and a top international side (No. 1-ranked USWNT).

Macario joined Lyon in January 2021 after an historic collegiate career with Stanford where she won two MAC Hermann trophies as the best player in college. She pushed herself into a starting role, helping the club to a D1 Feminine title and the Champions League crown in 2021-22, becoming the first American international to score in the Women’s Champions League final.

LYON ARE RUNNING RIOT!

Catarina Macario with the tap in! 😮

Watch the @UWCL Final live 👇

🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/JBKFKDjnnI
🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mCHiZrlDBV
🇫🇷 🎙 👉 https://t.co/tHncncobhD pic.twitter.com/acug814Wkx

— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) May 21, 2022

Additionally, Macario has quickly risen to a key role with the U.S. Women’s national team. She already has eight goals to her name in just 17 appearances since debuting in January 2021.

Born in Brazil, she received her U.S. citizenship in October of 2020 and was granted clearance to represent the United States in January 2021. She made her USWNT debut on January 18, 2021 in a 4-0 win against Colombia, and rapidly rose to prominence with the side.

Her most recent goals came against Uzbekistan in two April 2022 friendlies, and prior to that she found the net against Iceland in the 2022 SheBelieves Cup: