Morgan hopes to return for NWSL Fall Series
Orlando Pride star Alex Morgan could return to the pitch next month for the NWSL Fall Series, playing for the first time since she went on maternity leave.
The striker will join team training with the Pride on Monday, four months after the birth of her daughter, Charlie.
Pride coach Marc Skinner said her performance during the next few weeks of training will determine whether Morgan and the club feel she is ready to play in any of the team’s four matches of the series.
“She’s been working really, really hard,” Skinner said. “If Alex is fit and ready and we have no reaction to any of the team training, … I’m really hopeful we can get her into some of the games.”
Morgan welcomed Charlie on May 7 with her husband, former Orlando City forward Servando Carrasco.
The striker trained individually until the final weeks of her pregnancy — initially hoping to join the U.S. national team in July for the Tokyo Olympics, which were ultimately postponed due to the pandemic — and throughout the past two months. She split her time between Orlando, California and Tampa, where Carrasco currently plays in USL League One. Morgan returned to Orlando last weekend ahead of Pride team workouts.
Skinner said her ability to maintain form throughout the process impressed him.
“Considering she’s had a child in such a short turnaround time, she looks great,”
Skinner said. “I’ve put her through sort of her paces out in the field. She’s sharp in mind as well as body, so I’m hoping that she can play some part.”
The Pride will play four matches over the next two months. They face North Carolina and Houston on the road in September and host both teams in October.
Morgan last appeared for the Pride on Aug. 21, 2019, starting against the Chicago Red Stars. She suffered an upper-body collision after only six minutes on the pitch, exiting under concussion protocol. Morgan returned to training with the Pride several weeks later, but the team ruled her out for the season with a knee injury Sept. 16. Morgan then began the injury recovery process in California. She announced her pregnancy at the end of October.
Ahead of the Challenge Cup in May, Pride executive vice president Amanda Duffy said Morgan kept in contact with the team and remained “engaged and anxious” to return to the pitch for any NWSL play in the fall.
Despite her individual training, it’s been a full year since Morgan experienced contact training with the Pride or the national team. Skinner said the team will carefully monitor her progress leading to its NWSL Fall Series matches.
“If she is, we’d love to get her into there and playing some minutes,” Skinner said.
Returning a player to the pitch after pregnancy is a familiar process for the Pride. Striker Sydney Leroux trained with the Pride last summer 39 days after the birth of
her second child, and she played in her first match for the Pride exactly three months after her delivery date.
The season shutdown afforded Morgan a slightly longer turnaround. Her first team session Monday will come123 days after her daughter’s birth. The Pride’s first match of the NWSL Fall Series is in North Carolina Sept. 19, giving the striker nearly five months to recover.
In between her individual technical sessions, Morgan is putting herself through
extra running drills and “hitting pretty good speed” during each sprint, according to Skinner.
“The reason she’s training is because she wants to get back on the field,” Skinner said. “These players have such a wonderful kind of focus. It’s no wonder they’re the best in the world when you look at how much they want to work.”