United States women’s national team manager Vlatko Andonovski said forward Mallory Swanson is “doing better” than he thought emotionally in the wake of her torn patellar tendon, an injury that is almost certain to keep Swanson out of this summer’s World Cup.
Swanson was injured in the 40th minute of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Ireland after sustaining a challenge from defender Aoife Mannion. Swanson was stretchered off the field, and taken to a local hospital in Austin, Texas, where she received her diagnosis.
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She has since returned to Chicago, but Andonovski said Swanson had yet to undergo surgery. A U.S. Soccer spokesperson didn’t provide further details as to the severity of the injury.
“Honestly, she’s doing better than I thought,” Andonovski told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s second encounter with Ireland in St. Louis. “She’s stronger than me, let’s put it that way.”
Andonovski added that he had since spoken with Swanson and marveled at her positive attitude.
“Even before we knew what the injury is, when she was walking out, she had this big smile on her face and said, ‘Coach, I’m fine. I’ll be good,'” he said. “When I talked to her after that she was really good and she was very thankful for all the support that she got from the staff, from players, and outside of the environment. She said that all she wants is for the team to be successful, and that she’s gonna be our biggest supporter, so very, very good mindset, very good mentality.”
Andonovski said that Swanson’s upbeat attitude has been a constant inside the U.S. camp, and will be missed. But he also stressed that the team needs to move forward.
