Published: July 17, 2008
U.S. women’s soccer team scoring leader Abby Wambach will miss the Olympics after breaking her leg during an exhibition match with Brazil.
Wambach, a forward who has 13 goals and 10 assists to lead the U.S. this year, fractured both her tibia and fibula in a collision with a Brazilian defender during the U.S.’s 1-0 win in San Diego last night, the team said in a news release.
She will have surgery today to have a titanium rod inserted in the left leg and likely will need 12 weeks to recover.
“Obviously, it’s devastating, but above everything else, I’m only one player, and you can never win a championship with just one player,” Wambach said in a statement. “I have the utmost confidence in this team bringing home the gold.”
The U.S. women will face Norway, Japan and New Zealand during first-round play at the Aug. 8-24 Games in and around Beijing.
It will be the fourth Olympic competition for the U.S. women’s soccer team. They won a gold medal in Atlanta in 1996 and Athens in 2004, and a silver in Sydney in 2000.
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