USA’s Macario ruled out of Olympic Games

MIAMI: United States women´s team midfielder Catarina Macario has been ruled out of the Olympics due to a knee injury, head coach Emma Hayes said on Friday.

Macario, who played for Hayes at Chelsea in the English Women´s Super League, had only returned in March from a long-term knee injury. Hayes, who said she was “gutted” by the news, said the injury was “not a long-term situation, (she´s) just not going to recover in time for the Olympics”.

“She trained the other day, but she had some irritation leading up to that and it reacted,” Hayes told a news conference. “Having been through the last 12 months with her, I know it´s complex. So her welfare comes first and as I said, she´s done everything she can and she´s devastated,” added Hayes.

Lynn Williams, who had been named as a reserve in the squad, will step upin place of Macario. The USA won Olympic gold in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012 and warm up for the Paris Games with a friendly against Mexico on Saturday and then a meeting with Costa Rica in Washington DC, on Tuesday. Their opening game at the Olympics, in Group B, will be against Zambia in Nice on July 25. Hayes´ team will also face Germany and Australia in the group stage.