Christen Press the USWNT forward and two-time Women’s World Cup winner sustained an ACL injury in June 2022 and she is finally back after taking a break of almost 2 years. Her recovery was slow and painful for she underwent 4 surgeries.
She has been training by herself for the past few months, but she has officially joined the rest of her team on June 11th.
Christen Press is Back!
Guess who's back… @ChristenPress is back again 🤩 pic.twitter.com/uUsxRHHhyW
— NWSL on ION (@IONNWSL) June 10, 2024
In an interview with the Athletic on Monday, Christen Press said,
“My first day, I’ll do the warm up and the passing pattern with the team, but it will still be the first time I’ve done a legitimate passing pattern with a bunch of bodies on the field and checking angles, because it’s just been one-on-one training for two years,” Press told The Athletic on Monday. “We really are looking at — I got my first ACL surgery June 22 (2022), a week before that I tore my ACL — so really coming up on a two-year mark since the last time I played soccer, the last time I’ve been in team training.
When I first told Angel City (about my return), I was thinking, let’s just keep it closed, let me come in on a day when no one’s going to be there and let’s just see how it is. Then I reversed, I changed my mind, because I was like, ‘Shoot, who knows how many milestones I have left to celebrate? Who knows what’s going to happen after this first team training?’ So if this is something we can all celebrate, let’s just go for it, because this journey has been really, really long.”
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Christen Press continued on Monday,
“If you’re looking from a nine month perspective, I’m already past that right. A 9-12 month ACL perspective is not too far off, if we just look at my last surgery. But for whatever reason, I never really looked at the Olympics. With all the trauma of missing the World Cup, then watching the World Cup, then doing the show for the World Cup, I was like, I can’t do this again with the Olympics, because no matter how chill or zen I seem when I talk about it, there’s no way your mind can’t start doing the math, right?
There’s no way. I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m not like every other athlete, I can handle this.’ Then I’ll catch myself in the middle of the night counting how many weeks I have left. You can’t stop that. You can’t stop the dreaming, and you want that. That’s part of it, but it’s also the torturous part of it, and the balance of trying to believe you can do something incredible hard and the balance of not getting too excited.”
Christen Press in Angel City
https://gty.im/1399998251
Press joined Angel City in 2022. She became the first player to sign with the expansion team for a three-season contract worth $700,000. She became one of the highest-paid NWSL players at that time. Sadly, she could only make eight appearances for Angel City before her injury.
At 35 years old, Press has been consistent in her career. She has had 155 international appearances and scored 64 goals for the United States. However, she could not continue with her career in 2022 after the ACL injury.
Christen is also back in full force, she also announced that her podcast with her man, Tobin Heath, “The RE-CAP Show” is back. In the podcast, the two international players analyze the NWSL and global soccer.
Press’ determination is unmatched, after four surgeries, and being away for almost two years she is ready to be back on the pitch. We are waiting to see her bounce back, and shine as she always does!
About the Author
Joan, a passionate sports enthusiast from Kenya, enjoys diving into the world of sports and sharing insights through engaging articles. When not cheering on favorite teams, Joan immerses herself in the dynamic world of digital marketing, exploring new trends and strategies. Joan looks forward to making connections on LinkedIn and X, hoping to meet fellow sports fans and marketing aficionados.
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