Rodman recently said that her back would never be fully healed, something to manage for the rest of her career
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Rodman has been dealing with persistent back painMade return to USWNT, scoring in friendly vs BrazilWill travel to London to consult with team doctorFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
USWNT star Trinity Rodman was ruled out of the Washington Spirit's match against the Orlando Pride on Saturday, with the team confirming that she was unavailable in the injury report. According to Pro Soccer Wire, Rodman's absence is "part of her ongoing management" of the back injury that has limited her since last year.
Rodman's agent, Mike Senkowski, offered more detail to the Washington Post, saying that Rodman is “taking time away from team activities at the moment to meet with [Spirit] doctor in London. She will return as soon as she’s healthy."
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Rodman's absence is an obvious setback, as it was hoped she'd be able to manage her lingering back concerns. The winger has been battling the injury, but returned to the U.S. squad this month for friendlies against Brazil, scoring just minutes into her return. The match was her first for the USWNT since the 2024 Olympics.
Prior to camp, she told reporters that she believed that her back would never be fully healed and that the injury would be something she'd just have to manage for the rest of her career.
"Honestly, I don't think my back will ever be 100 percent," Rodman said. "It's kind of an issue of it's not one specific thing, it's just the way that my back's structured. And it's more so management than like a curable fix. So I think we've managed it really well and I'm happy with the progression that we've had. But for me, I don't think my back will ever be the way it was my rookie year, which is unfortunate."
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Prior to this weekend, Rodman had played in every regular season match for the Spirit, but has totaled just 166 minutes across the four games.
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Currently third in the league through the first four weeks, the Spirit face the league-leading defending champions in Orlando on Saturday. After that, they host to Gotham FC on April 26. As for the USWNT, they'll be back in action starting May 31 for a friendly against China before taking on Jamaica three days later.
