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

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 ICO, USOPC, 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.

»I'm absolutely gutted for Cat. She's someone who has worked hard within the last 12 months. She's really put in a shift to get there, but it's not to be."

Hayes said that Macario will return to London to get treatment with her club and Hayes' former club, Chelsea.

The USWNT coach added that Macario had some irritation leading up to training this week.

Hayes called the situation «complex.»

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