USA women’s captain Becky Sauerbrunn ‘will MISS the World Cup’ after picking up foot injury in April

Becky Sauerbrunn, captain of the US women’s national team, will not be included in the roster for this summer’s Women’s World Cup, according to a new report.

Sauerbrunn suffered a foot injury in April with the Portland Thorns of the NWSL.

And while the 38-year-old defender returned from injury earlier this month, The athletic reported on Friday that Sauerbrunn will not go to the Australian-New Zealand-hosted tournament, citing multiple anonymous sources.

Players were notified of their roster status on Thursday, the publication said.

Sauerbrunn is one of several injured American players to miss the tournament, which opens July 20, after forward Mallory Swanson went down with a knee injury in April.

The defender returned for the Thorns on June 3, but will not make the trip to the tournament

Sam Mewis, a loyal midfielder, will also miss the tournament, while Catarina Macario has also been ruled out.

Another midfield member of the 2019 winning side, Rose Lavelle, has not played since she was injured against Ireland in April.

Sauerbrunn is one of the team’s longest-serving players with 216 international appearances.

She helped the Americans to two World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019.

Injuries aside, the USWNT is considered a favorite for this tournament as they will still have stars like Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith on the roster.

The US will begin proceedings on July 21 in Group E vs. Vietnam, before playing the Netherlands and then Portugal.