United States women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes said she “can’t put a time frame” on when forward Trinity Rodman will return to the field, but that Rodman is “definitely heading in the right direction.”
Rodman has only played limited minutes for club and country this year due to a recurring back injury. She last played in a match on April 12 for the Washington Spirit.
“I don’t know when she will be back, but I know that Trin is being given all the support by everyone, and we very much hope for a speedy recovery,” Hayes told reporters on Tuesday.
The Spirit issued a statement last month saying that Rodman was “taking time away from team activities to manage her back.” Her agent, Mike Senkowski, told the Washington Post last month that Rodman was meeting with a Spirit team doctor in London.
The club has not provided a formal update on Rodman since then.
“I think, with regards to the issue in her back, she wants to get to a place where it doesn’t keep coming back,” Hayes said on Tuesday. “So, I think these are the right steps for her.”
Rodman’s back problems were reignited last fall during a game against the Kansas City Current, when she left the field on a wheelchair before returning to the bench. “I don’t think my back will ever be 100 percent,” she said last month.
“It’s kind of an issue of it’s not one specific thing; it’s just the way that my back’s structured,” she said. “And it’s more so management than like a curable fix.”
Rodman returned to the field for the USWNT on April 3 against Brazil, her first appearance since helping the team win the Olympic gold medal last August. She scored five minutes into that match against Brazil and faked a back injury as part of the celebration.
But Rodman has played only once since then for the Spirit, She came off the bench at halftime on April 12 in a win over Racing Louisville FC.
“She’s doing really well,” Hayes said about Rodman on Tuesday. “We speak regularly. There’s certainly been a multidisciplinary approach to supporting Trin — that’s both club country and the NWSL. So, there’s good communication and support provided to her.”
Hayes said on Tuesday that she is evaluating options on her forward line, including testing fullback Gisele Thompson as a winger in next week’s camp.
Rodman, Sophia Wilson (nee née Smith) and Mallory Swanson were the team’s starting forwards at last year’s Olympics. Wilson and Swanson have not played since the Olympics, first due to injuries. Both are now on maternity leave.
