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Jeff Kassouf
LEESBURG, Va. — Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman’s status is unclear for Saturday’s NWSL quarterfinal as she recovers from a sprained MCL sustained last month.
Rodman did not participate in the first 30 minutes (the time open to media) of the Spirit’s training session on Friday.
She spent that time inside the team’s adjacent gym facility, according to a team spokesperson, before joining the team on the field for the end of practice.
Spirit head coach Adrián González was noncommittal about labeling Rodman’s status less than 24 hours before Saturday’s quarterfinal against No. 7 seed Racing Louisville FC.
González said that Rodman and others have been «day by day» and that he would need to speak with the medical staff later Friday for an official diagnosis.
«The only thing with Trin is she’s been doing great,» González said. «Positive that I think she’s checking those boxes and she’s in a good spot, mentally and obviously physically she’s improving. She’s been doing a great job. Very committed with her recovery, doing as much as possible to be in the best spot as possible. We are optimistic and she’s doing good.»
Rodman was unavailable for comment after practice.
The Spirit are the No. 2 seed in the playoffs for the second year in a row. If they beat playoff debutants Louisville on Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., the Spirit will host a semifinal next week against either the Portland Thorns or San Diego Wave.
«We’re coming at it like a humble mindset,» Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt told reporters after training on Friday. «We want to fight and we’re hungry. We’re not just like, oh, we’re at the top here so we should [win]. I feel like we’re coming in like, who cares, we want to kill anyone that we meet in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter who it is.»
On Friday, González stressed the importance of the Spirit staying compact defensively and winning second balls so that they don’t get caught in transition, which is how Louisville likes to play.
Washington might need to get by without Rodman, who has five goals and two assists in just nine games this season.
Rodman sprained her right MCL on Oct. 15 in Washington’s 4-0 victory over Mexican side Monterrey in the Concacaf W Champions Cup, a result that clinched the Spirit a spot in next year’s continental semifinals.
Rodman left the field in tears, unable to put pressure on the leg, and was later seen on crutches and wearing a full knee brace. González said later that week that the MCL sprain was «the best scenario» they could have hoped for after initial fears that the injury was more serious.
Hours before her injury, Rodman was named to her first United States women’s national team roster in six months. USWNT head coach Emma Hayes had said she was «super excited» for the return of Rodman, «one of the best players in the world.»
That return had to wait, however. Rodman was unable to report to the USWNT and has played only one match for the United States since starring in its Olympic gold-medal run in summer 2024.
Rodman’s recurring back injury limited her time with the USWNT for most of the past year, and it affected her in last year’s playoffs, too. Rodman said after the Spirit’s loss to the Orlando Pride in the 2024 NWSL Championship that it was «not an excuse but I wasn’t the Trin that I wanted to be today.»
In March, she said her back might never be the same again, but her departure from the Spirit’s team environment this spring to work on rehab in London led to a fuller recovery and more optimistic prognosis.
Rodman returned to the field on Aug. 3 after nearly four months out and scored a dramatic, game-winning goal off the bench. She spoke through tears to ESPN after the match about what the moment meant.
«Holy cow, that was just the hardest thing I’ve had to go through with injury and everything,» Rodman said while holding back tears after the game.
Rodman is one of the NWSL’s emerging stars. She is also out of contract at the end of 2025, and she told ESPN earlier this year that she has always thought about playing overseas and that it was «just a matter of when.»
On Sunday, in the regular-season finale, the Spirit had only three healthy field players available off the bench in a 1-0 loss to Utah.
The Spirit had 18 field players participating in the open portion of Friday’s training session at the Inova Performance Complex.
Along with Rodman, Croix Bethune (thigh), Leicy Santos (illness) and Deborah Abiodun (ankle) were all unavailable last week.
Bethune, Santos and Abiodun all trained in some capacity on Friday.
«We’ve got a big bench now and we’re excited,» Spirit defender Tara McKeown said after Friday’s practice. «Everyone’s ready to go and excited to be playing at home in front of our fans at Audi [Field].»
