Trinity Rodman injury: USWNT star leaves Washington Spirit game on crutches after attempting tackle

U.S. women's national team star Trinity Rodman exited the Washington Spirit's game on Wednesday with an undisclosed leg injury and will undergo scans on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury. Rodman came off in the 41st minute of the Spirit's 4-0 win over Monterrey in the Concacaf W Champions Cup, going to ground after attempting a tackle. She was eventually helped up by team staff but was unable to place any weight on her right leg as she came off the field. She was then seen heading into the locker room at halftime on crutches, and later in a full-length knee brace post-match while still on crutches.

The player's exact diagnosis is unclear at this time.

"We need to wait until tomorrow," Spirit coach Adrian Gonzalez said after the game, according to Pro Soccer Wire. "She's going to get scanned tomorrow, and we will have more information."

The injury came on the same day that Rodman received her first USWNT call-up since April, spending much of the spring and summer treating a chronic back injury. She has, though, played a sizable role for the Spirit since returning from that injury and has seven goals and two assists across all competitions.

The USWNT have three friendlies at the end of the month – two against Portugal on Oct. 23 and Oct. 26 – and another against New Zealand on Oct. 29. The Spirit, meanwhile, have two regular season games left in the NWSL and are gearing up for the playoffs after clinching second place and securing home field advantage in the quarterfinals and semifinals should they advance, with the postseason beginning on Nov. 7.

Who steps up in Rodman's place on the USWNT?

If Rodman is unable to take part, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has several players on October's roster that are both willing and able to make meaningful attacking contributions against Portugal and New Zealand. Hayes spent the year since the U.S.' gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics providing opportunities to rising talents, many of whom cracked the roster for this month's friendlies after stepping up in the absence of the "triple espresso" of Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson.

For Rodman's typical role on the right wing, Hayes has several talented players at her disposal – Michelle Cooper, Ally Sentnor, Yazmeen Ryan and Emma Sears. Ryan and Sentnor are some of the big winners of Hayes' year of experimentation as two of just three players who were not on the Olympics roster to earn 10-plus appearances since, and Sentnor has been one of the team's most productive attackers in that stretch with four goals and two assists. Ryan, meanwhile, has one goal and two assists in the last year with the national team.

Cooper and Sears are not too far behind Senator and Ryan in terms of playing time with eight appearances each, with Sears notching one goal and two assists in that time and Cooper posting one of each. The good news for Hayes – and perhaps all of these players – is that with three games on the schedule this month, there will be plenty of minutes available to all of the attacking talent, refreshing the decades-old sense of competition for playing time in the USWNT's offense.