Alex Morgan Injury: Updates on USWNT Star's Ankle and Return

Updates from Saturday, Oct. 18

The U.S. Women's National team released a statement on Morgan's injury on Saturday: 

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U.S. Women’s National Team forward Alex Morgan will be unavailable to participate in the reminder of the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship due to a left ankle sprain suffered last night against Guatemala in the USA’s second Group A match.

Morgan underwent an MRI this morning which confirmed the sprain, but revealed no additional damage. She will be out an estimated 4-6 weeks to rehabilitate the injury. Morgan will depart the U.S. camp and return home to continue her rehab.

“We certainly feel for Alex and of course having her go down is a big loss to our team, but as I’ve often said, one of our strengths is depth and everyone on the roster is prepared to step up,” said Ellis. “After talking with our medical staff and Alex, we all agreed that the best course of action for her is to head home to minimize travel and get into an environment where she can totally focus on recovery.”

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Morgan talked about the injury in the statement as well:

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“It’s unfortunate timing, but I know my teammates will take care of business and qualify for the World Cup and I’ll be watching from my couch,” said Morgan. “I have plenty of time to get healthy with a longer break coming up for the team so my job is to focus on the rehab and get back healthy as soon as I can.”

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Original Text

United States women's national team star Alex Morgan suffered an ankle injury during a CONCACAF Women's Championship qualifying fixture against Guatemala on Friday night.

According to Fox Soccer Trax, Morgan was stretchered off in the 39th minute of the USWNT's 5-0 win:

The Portland Thorns forward rolled her left ankle in what Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl felt was a scary-looking injury:

Liviu Bird of SI captured a snapshot of when the injury happened:

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Here's a look at Alex Morgan's latest ankle injury. The picture speaks for itself: that's a major sprain, at least. pic.twitter.com/BmX88G38vO

— Liviu Bird (@liviubird) October 18, 2014"

As The Equalizer's Jeff Kassouf pointed out, Morgan has a history with that left ankle:

"She's pretty optimistic, which is a good sign," said national team coach Jill Ellis after the game, per The Associated Press, via espnW. "She's a tremendous player. It would be a loss if we didn't have her."

Ellis also revealed that the injury was a "pretty bad sprain," per Wahl:

According to sports writer Brian Sandalow, Morgan needed crutches after the game and will have scans on the ankle to determine the severity of the injury:

Morgan is one of the biggest stars for the U.S. women's national team. Her athleticism and goal-scoring ability are nearly unmatched.

Ellis took over in May. She could be without one of her key players for what are important matches to stamp her tactical identity on the squad.