U.S. women’s national team defender Kelley O’Hara is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after undergoing surgery on her right ankle earlier this week.
According to U.S. Soccer, O’Hara underwent an arthroscopic operation on Tuesday to clear up some loose bodies in her right ankle. She has dealt with injuries to the ankle in the past and has even undergone previous operations on the ankle, but O’Hara opted for the surgery in order to give herself the best chance to be fully healthy by the time the Women’s World Cup rolls around in June of 2019.
“It’s all good. These kinds of things come with the territory,” O’Hara said. “This is just the best time to get the procedure done so I’m one hundred percent heading into 2019 and physically ready to perform at the level I want to and need to. It’s a bummer that I won’t get to Europe, but the most important thing is to be healthy for next year.”
Out Until 2019
The surgery means O’Hara will miss Team USA’s final two games of the year against Portugal and Scotland, but she hopes to be back on the field early in 2019.
O’ Hara has earned 112 caps throughout her tenure on Team USA. Assuming she can make a full recovery and get her fitness up to championship level, it seems very likely that O’Hara will be able to play in her third World Cup with the national team. Here’s hoping everything goes as expected for her recovery.