The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has started, and the US Women’s National Team will be looking for their fifth title. However, despite counting with great stars such as Alex Morgan or Sophia Smith, there are going to be some absences. One of them is Caterina Macario.

The 23-year-old Brazilian-born midfielder is one of the rising talents of soccer. She currently plays for Chelsea, after having a successful run with Olympique Lyon. In two seasons with the French team, she scored 28 goals in 44 matches.

With the senior national team, she has had 17 appearances scoring eight goals. However, despite being one of the most interesting talents right now, she wasn’t able to travel with the team to Australia and New Zealand. So, what happened?

Why is Catarina Macario not participating in the 2023 Women’s World Cup?

Sadly, Catarina Macario is one of a long-list of players that recently have suffered ACL injuries. Macario tore her ACL last June in the 2022 Champions League final while playing with French club Lyon.

In May, she announced that she wouldn’t be “physically” ready to play with the national team. “I’ll be cheering hard for my teammates at the World Cup, and I look forward to dedicating myself to fight to earn a spot for what I hope will be a long future on the U.S. national team,” she wrote on Instagram.

As we said, she isn’t the only one with injuries. In the US, Mallory Swanson and Christen Press will also miss the World Cup. Meanwhile, other injured players are: England duo of Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, Dutch star Vivianne Miedema, France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto, and Canada’s Janine Beckie.

Catarina Macario

Women's World Cup 2023: Why was Catarina Macario not called up to the United States national team?