Life comes at you real fast, doesn’t it? Just a month ago Trinity Rodman was making waves on the pitch with her enthralling performance during the Olympics. Now, the USWNT international sustained an unfortunate injury during last week’s NWSL action, being forced to leave the pitch in a wheelchair. While fingers are crossed for a quick recovery, her absence is being touted as no less than a ‘huge loss’ for the Washington Spirit.

“She’s very much an MVP candidate,” said Jeff Kassouf while speaking on ESPN FC’s The Futbol W. “You look at what she’s done coming back from the Olympics, she’s been incredible really, one of the best players in the league and certainly for the Spirit, and if the Spirit don’t have her down the stretch, I think it could be a problem,” the journalist continued.

Kassouf didn’t stop there as praised Rodman for adding a unique element to the team. He highlighted the 22-year-old’s X-factor. Be it her two-way play or track back, the forward surely stands out from the crowd by always being unpredictable on the ball. “I do think it would be a huge loss if she’s out but I’m optimistic that this is not a super long-term issue for her,” he concluded.

How important Rodman is for the Washington Spirit can be crunching some numbers. In the presence of their star player, Jonatan Giráldez’s side has maintained a record of 14W-2D-4L. However, in her absence, they might be off to something skimpy, having record 1W-0D-3L. This surely underscores the importance of the US international for the Spirits.

Notably, Rodman sustained a back injury during the 75th minute vs KC Current. After shielding the ball from the Current’s Temwa Chawinga, the USWNT player collapsed face down on the field. Unable to carry on, she was taken off in a wheelchair and escorted to the locker room, as the Spirit finished the match with a 3-0 loss to the Current.

Following the game, Rodman’s agent, Mike Senkowski, told the Washington Post on Saturday that she had suffered from an ‘intense back spasm.’ However, head coach Giráldez gave an update before their impending clash against Angel City.

Huge injury update dropped regarding Trinity Rodman prior to Angel City

Even though Trinity Rodman has been left out of the squad that flew to LA for Matchday 22, Giráldez admitted that her absence doesn’t mean things are serious for the recent Olympic gold medal winner.  

Acknowledging the youngster had pain in her back, the manager said, “After checking everything, the results have been good. This type of pain, you have to take care, so I thought the best for her and for the team was to stay in Washington to be 100 [percent] recovered without pain and ready to help us because we know that right now, we cannot commit any mistakes [with player management],”

Similar was the update on Rodman’s fellow teammate and defender Casey Krueger, who is sidelined due to an adductor injury. Both of the players have been left in recuperation room to nurse their respective injuries, given that the NWSL playoffs are also just around the corner. Regardless, it remains to be seen how quickly Rodman makes a return.