USWNT’s Megan Rapinoe Has Surgery for Torn Achilles Injury Suffered in Final Match
AP Photo/Gregory Bull
OL Reign star Megan Rapinoe underwent successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles on Wednesday in New York, the team announced.
Rapinoe tore her Achilles just minutes into the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League championship game on Sunday between the OL Reign and NY/NJ Gotham at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.
Gotham won the final 2-1.
B/R Football @brfootball
Megan Rapinoe’s final professional game was cut short as she limped off inside the first five minutes of the NWSL Final 💔
(via @AttackingThird)
The NWSL championship game was supposed to cap off a historic career for the former United States women’s national team star, who played her final match for the Americans in a 2-0 victory over South Africa at Chicago’s Soldier Field in September.
Instead, Rapinoe went down just two minutes and 25 seconds into the game after she slipped with her leg buckling beneath her. She told reporters after the game that she had a feeling she tore her Achilles.
“I was feeling good. I was actually feeling some of my best I felt all season these last couple of weeks. I wasn’t feeling tight in my calf or Achilles or anything,” Rapinoe said. “So in classic form, I was like, ‘F—, who just kicked me?’ There’s nobody, I’m the one pressing, there’s nobody around me. So, I had that immediate thought.”
The injury was a disappointing way for the 38-year-old to finish her soccer career, which spanned two decades and included a countless number of accolades.
During her NWSL career, which spanned 2013-2023, Rapinoe tallied 52 goals and 26 assists in 121 appearances for the OL Reign. However, she never captured a league title during her 10 seasons in Seattle.
Rapinoe is best known for her time with the USWNT.
The California native made her debut with the USWNT in 2006 and went on to appear in 203 games for the Stars and Stripes, notching 63 goals and 73 assists in that span, which both rank in the top 10 in team history.
She is one of the most decorated players in national team history, having led the U.S. women to World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 and an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games.
Rapinoe had a career year in 2019, collecting the Golden Ball and Golden Boot at the World Cup, The Best FIFA Women’s Player of the Year award, the Ballon d’Or Féminin and the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award.
With Rapinoe’s surgery complete, she will not focus on rehabbing during her retirement.
