Wambach to Miss Olympics

Striker Fractures Leg in Exhibition Win Over Brazil

July 17, 2008

Wambach suffered a mid-shaft oblique fracture of the tibia and fibula, the two bones that make up the lower leg, in a 31st minute collision with Brazilian defender Andreia Rosa. The two players went hard into a tackle on the play and the Brazilian caught Wambach with a full swing flush in the middle of her lower leg.

Wambach went down in a heap and immediately called for medical attention. The match was stopped for about five minutes as an air cast was put around her leg and she was loaded onto a stretcher. Wambach was taken to the hospital where X-rays confirmed the fracture. She should miss about 12 weeks.

Abby Wambach will miss the 2008 Summer Olympics after fracturing her leg Wednesday. (CHRIS ADUAMA/ADUAMA.com)

“I want to thank all the fans, the doctors, the players on the team and Tasha Kai for scoring the winning goal,” said Wambach from the emergency room. ”Obviously, it’s devastating, but above everything else, I’m only one player, and you can never win a championship with just one player. I have the utmost confidence in this team bringing home the gold.”

Scheduled to undergo surgery this morning, Wambach will be on crutches for several weeks before she can start rehabilitation. Wambach is the USA’s leading scorer this year with 13 goals and 10 assists. She has led the team in scoring in the last three world championships and is one of the top scorers in U.S. history with 99 goals in 127 games.

“I’m excited to watch them and cheer them on during this challenge they’ve been presented with,” said Wambach. “It’s really going to take everyone coming together. I love them all so much, and appreciate so many people involved with this game and the team. I put my heart and soul into this game every day, but sometimes accidents happen. I’ve gotten so many calls already, and I just want to say how much I appreciate that.”

In the game, Kai entered the match the 56th minute and would bag the winning goal just five minutes from the end of the game. The goal came from a free-kick just outside the penalty area on the right side, just a few yards from the end line.

Lloyd chipped a cross into the middle and Kai got inside position on her defender before pounding a header down into the net from just inside the six-yard box. It was Kai’s 12th goal of the year and 20th of her international career.

“So many things happened in this game, and I’ve very happy with the way we ended the game with that great goal, a beautiful goal,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. “(Scoring a winning goal late in the game) has happened to this team so many times. There is something about this team that is ‘winning.’ It’s late in the game and they create chances and all of a sudden you get the big goals.”

Wambach had two early chances to get what would have been her 100th career goal. In just the fourth minute, she got behind the Brazilian defense in the left side of the penalty area, but her sliding shot bounced just past the right post. She also rounded Brazilian goalkeeper Barbara a few minutes later in the left side of the box, but her angle was too sharp to take a shot. She cut back inside and Barbara dove at her feet, sending Wambach sprawling.

The win sends the U.S. to the Beijing Olympics with a 21-0-1 record in 2008. The U.S. team will have a few days off before departing for China on July 23. A replacement for Wambach will be named in the next few days.

The U.S. opens its 2008 Olympics on Aug. 6 against Norway.

U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM GAME REPORT

Scoring Summary:
USA – Natasha Kai (Carli Lloyd) 85th minute.

Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 17-Lori Chalupny, 3-Christie Rampone – Capt, 15-Kate Markgraf, 2-Heather Mitts; 7-Shannon Boxx, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 5-Lindsay Tarpley (6-Natasha Kai, 56), 11-Carli Lloyd (10-Aly Wagner, 86); 8-Amy Rodriguez, 12-Abby Wambach (16-Angela Hucles, 38).

BRA: 1-Barbara (12-Andrea, 46); 2-Jatoba, 4-Tania, 5-Andreia Rosa (20-Raquel, 88), 6-Rosana (13-Dani, 66); 7-Formiga, 9-Maicon, 14-Ester; 11-Pretinha (15-Maurine, 46), 18-Fabiana (17-Francielle, 76).

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: Blink Del.icio.us Digg
Furl Google Simpy Spurl Technorati Y! MyWeb