Washington Spirit is still taking forward Trinity Rodman’s return to the pitch “day by day,” as the club navigates multiple player injuries heading into the first round of the NWSL playoffs on Saturday. Rodman missed the Spirit’s last two games due to a grade 1 MCL sprain that occurred during the team’s Concacaf Champions Cup match last month.
Several players who have been out in recent weeks due to varying injuries were available for limited training Friday ahead of the Spirit’s quarterfinal match with Racing Louisville. Rodman, Croix Bethune and Deborah Abiodun were all part of training Friday.
Last week, the Spirit traveled with a limited roster of 16 players for their final game of the regular season against the Utah Royals. Spirit coach Adrian Gonzalez said it was a strategic decision meant to prioritize rest ahead of the postseason. The Spirit had 11 players unavailable for selection on matchday last week.
“We’ve been trying to recover as many players as possible,” Gonzalez told reporters Friday. “With the international break, a lot of players were gone with the national teams, and we were prioritizing rest (and) recovery — so try to have the best availability as possible for the playoffs. We are in a good spot.”
Rodman has been absent from the Spirit’s rotation for nearly a month after sustaining a Grade 1 MCL sprain in her right knee. The injury occurred against Monterrey on Oct. 15.
“She’s checking those boxes, and she’s in a good spot mentally and, physically, she’s improving,” Gonzalez said. “She’s doing a great job, very committed to her recovery, doing as much as possible to be in the best spot as possible. We are optimistic.”
Rodman’s knee injury was a heartbreaking setback for the 23-year-old. Days earlier, the forward was called up by U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes for a trio of friendlies for the October window. It would have been Rodman’s first time back with the U.S. since April, after recovering from a recurring back injury that has plagued her since her rookie season.
Rodman’s return would be a vital boost to the Spirit as they head into the postseason. The team ended the regular season in second place, but lost its last two games of the NWSL regular season to Orlando Pride and the Royals.
Racing clinched their first-ever berth to the NWSL postseason with their win against Bay FC last week. The team is looking to continue its historic season with an upset win Saturday.
The last week has been critical for the Spirit to regroup and return to basics. They are slowly welcoming injured players back into the club environment, and Gonzalez said the team had a strong week in training. The Spirit are returning to the NWSL playoffs after falling to the Pride last year in the NWSL Championship.
“We clinched high, or whatever, but we don’t care,” Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt said. “We’re coming at it with a humble mindset. We want to fight and we’re hungry. … We want to kill anyone that we meet in the playoffs, and it doesn’t matter who it is.”