Star forward Olivia Smith leaves Canada camp, returns to Arsenal to treat hip pointer

Canadian star forward Olivia Smith, injured in a 1-0 loss to Switzerland on Friday, has returned to her club team in England for treatment for a hip pointer.

Canada Soccer said the 21-year-old from Whitby, Ont., will "focus on her recovery" at London's Arsenal.

Teenage forward Kaylee Hunter has also left the national team. The 17-year-old from Calgary did not take part in the Swiss game in Lucerne because of an injury suffered before arriving in camp.

Hunter has returned to AFC Toronto to continue her rehabilitation.

The ninth-ranked Canadian women look to bounce back from the loss to 24th-ranked Swiss when they face the 11th-ranked Netherlands on Tuesday in Nijmegen. They close out 2025 with a pair of games against No. 8 Japan during the November FIFA window.

Smith was hurt in her first start for Canada since joining Arsenal from Liverpool in July for a then-world-record transfer fee of one million pounds ($1.87 million).

Smith was injured in a heavy fall in the 32nd minute, bodied to the ground by Swiss defender Viola Calligaris as they challenged for the ball. Smith spent some five minutes on the turf receiving medical attention before being taken off the field in a golf cart.

A distraught Smith did not put weight on her right leg as she was lifted to her feet and helped to the cart.

"From where I stood, it was definitely a foul," Canada coach Casey Stoney said after the match. "And also from where I stood for 90 minutes, we didn't feel like we got an awful lot of decisions."

Smith had received physical treatment from the Swiss from the opening kickoff.

Asked if opponents were targeting the five-foot-four Smith, Stoney replied: "I really hope not."

In June, Smith exited Canada's friendly against Haiti on a stretcher