Spirit’s Trinity Rodman leaves game in wheelchair after back injury

Washington Spirit and United States women’s national team forward Trinity Rodman left the field in a wheelchair on Friday after she suffered a back injury in the Spirit’s 3-0 loss to the Kansas City Current.

Rodman fell to the ground on the sideline in the 75th minute after shielding the ball from Kansas City forward Temwa Chawinga.

Rodman laid on her stomach and held her back before receiving treatment from Washington’s training staff. She attempted to walk to the bench with assistance from two members of the training staff before sitting down in the wheelchair to be taken to the locker room, five minutes after the injury.

Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez confirmed after the match that Rodman felt something in her back, but said he had “no information”. He stated that the team would need to return to Washington, D.C., for further evaluation.

The sellout crowd in Kansas City chanted Rodman’s name as she left the field. Rodman returned to the bench for the final minutes of the match, which the Spirit lost, 3-0 to put a dent in their hopes of winning the NWSL Shield.

Rodman’s eight goals this season ranks tied for fourth in the NWSL with teammate Ouleye Sarr. Rodman is also tied for second in the NWSL with six assists. She is likely to be a finalist for the 2024 NWSL MVP award.

No player has been a more consistent fixture with the U.S. women’s national team since the start of 2023. Rodman is the only player to have appeared in every USWNT game in the past two calendar years, and she was one of the stars of the USWNT’s run to an Olympic gold medal last month.

Rodman scored three goals for the USWNT at the 2024 Olympics, including the extra-time winner in the 1-0 victory over Japan in the quarterfinals.

Kansas City’s 3-0 victory clinched a playoff spot for the pulled the Current and pulled them within two points of second-place Washington. Chawinga scored her league-leading 16th goal of the season, pulling within two tallies of Sam Kerr’s single-season league record.