Portland Thorns, Canada’s Star Beckie Misses Women’s World Cup

Portland Thorns and Canada’s Canada national team forward Janine Beckie will miss the upcoming NWSL season and the 2023 Women’s World Cup after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee, her club announced on Friday.

Beckie suffered the injury during a Thorns friendly against the USA U-23 women’s national team on Wednesday. The 28-year-old will have surgery in the coming weeks, the Thorns said.

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“Heartbroken is an understatement,” Beckie said in a statement on social media. “Unfortunately, doctors confirmed yesterday that I tore my ACL during Wednesday night’s game.

“After working so hard in the offseason for one of the biggest seasons of my career, defending the title for Portland Thorns and of course playing for Canada at the World Cup, I’ve been a hard pill to swallow outside for a long time.

“I will be supporting my team-mates for both club and country this season and it goes without saying that I will return better and stronger than ever.”

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— Janine Beckie (@janinebeckie) March 17, 2023

The ex-Manchester City player was part of the Canada team that won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and has scored 36 goals in 101 appearances at international level.

Beckie has also been at the forefront of the team’s recent protests over pay equity and budget cuts before announcing earlier this month that the players had reached an interim funding agreement with Canada Soccer.

She should be a key player at this summer’s World Cup, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20th to August 20th.

The Thorns begin defending the NWSL Championship on March 26, which they won at home against the Orlando Pride last year.