Cat Macario withdraws from USWNT Olympic roster with knee irritation, will be replaced by Lynn Williams – MASHAHER

After finally returning to pitch for the U.S. Women’s National Team, Catarina Macario will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 24-year-old forward is withdrawing from the Olympic roster after suffering minor knee irritation, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes announced in a press conference on Friday.

Veteran USWNT forward Lynn Williams, who was named as an alternate on the roster, will fill Macario’s spot. Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams has been named as an alternate, pending IOC and FIFA approval.

Hayes made the announcement ahead of a pair of Olympic sendoff friendlies, the first of which takes place in New Jersey’s Red Bull Arena on Saturday.

Macario, a young and dynamic attacking player, suffered a torn ACL in June 2022 while playing for French club Lyon, and took more than a year and a half to return to the pitch. Her delayed recovery also caused her to miss the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, despite hopes that she would be able to join the team in Australia and New Zealand last summer. Macario made her return to the USWNT roster in March.

At the press conference, Hayes, who is also Macario’s former head coach at Chelsea, said that she was “absolutely gutted” for Macario.

Macario will now travel back to her club for additional recovery. “I think considering everything that Cat’s been through, it’s important she goes back to Chelsea,” said Hayes.

Born in Brazil, Macario was eligible to play internationally for both the United States and Brazil, but chose the U.S. She received her first call-up for the USWNT in October 2020 and earned her first cap in a friendly against Colombia on January 18, 2021. Macario has eight goals in 19 appearances with the team.

The Olympics would have been an opportunity for Macario to finally establish herself as part of the USWNT’s young-and-upcoming core, but her chance to showcase her talent in a international competition will have to wait.