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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script><ul><li>Ligament damage suffered in June 2022</li><li>Taken in a long road to recovery</li><li>Always believed that she would play again</li></ul>

USWNT star Christen Press is back after 781 days! Two-year ACL injury nightmare is over for Angel City’s former Man Utd forward

Friendlies

England

The 35-year-old forward, who has 155 caps for her country and two World Cup wins on a distinguished CV, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/uswnt-christen-press-update-acl-injury-2023-womens-world-cup/blt32c2bc120093b50a" target="_blank">suffered knee ligament damage on June 11, 2022</a>. She has been stuck on the sidelines ever since, with obvious questions being asked of whether she would ever play again, but Angel City have <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/uswnt-christen-press-2023-women-s-world-cup-angel-city-injury-explained/blt91d3a463e8d1a81f" target="_blank">taken her off the NWSL’s season-ending injury list</a>.<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Welcome back, Queen 👑 <a href="https://t.co/NZjVbstGaP">pic.twitter.com/NZjVbstGaP</a>— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) <a href="https://twitter.com/weareangelcity/status/1818794674750210099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2024</a></blockquote>
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WHAT HAPPENED?

Press has told the club’s <a href="https://angelcity.com/angel-city-football-club-news/for-christen-press-the-joy-is-in-the-journey " target="_blank">official website</a>: “You have to accept that things won’t go the way you think they will, but maybe they’ll go better. Progress isn’t linear. It’s up and down and back and forth. But in that movement there’s more than what you ever imagined. So the imperfection - the struggle, the setbacks - those are actually the greatest gifts as you get to learn about yourself and you have the chance to grow.“I think every single time that I was told I’d have to have surgery, from the first ACL reconstruction and the three scopes that I had, I always thought I would be on the quickest timeline possible.I think that's part of who I am. I'm just relentlessly optimistic. I'm naively positive, and just thinking that everything's going to work out for me - and I never want that to change, you know? And I got off course of all of those timelines so many times that I finally had to actually relinquish that expectation of myself.”

WHAT PRESS SAID

Press added on never walking ever from a challenge: “I never thought about giving up, but there were moments that I thought I’d have to accept that I wouldn’t make it - or that ‘making it’ might not look how I expected. I’m able to do a lot of suffering for success, and I’ve been that way since I was a child. The question I had to answer was how to accept and be open to things I cannot control. I’m determined to enjoy it. I know who I am as a player and person, and I see this opportunity as a chance to do what I love. I told my team-mates today: football is a miracle. It’s a miracle we get to do the thing we love.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

ACFC are delighted to be welcoming Press back, with first assistant coach Eleri Earnshaw saying: “Her quality is inevitable. Last week in training, she scored a couple of goals that we haven't seen anyone else do yet this season in training. Your ability doesn't change overnight. There are some things that just stay with you. Her chance creation, her separation from defenders - you’ve got to be in the right physical and mental place to be able to perform those things, to be confident to do it, but she is building those things up every day. If we can get that quality onto the pitch for any number of minutes, great.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Press <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/natalie-portmans-angel-city-fc-stadium-nwsl-debut-hollywood-celebrity-owners--all-you-need-to-know/p13vc0sgdoem1elzsf5w967iz" target="_blank">became Angel City’s first signing in 2021</a>, having spent the previous year with WSL side Manchester United in England. She will now be available for selection for the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup match against SoCal rivals San Diego Wave FC on August 1.

WHAT NEXT?

USWNT star Christen Press is back after 781 days! Two-year ACL injury nightmare is over for Angel City’s former Man Utd forward | Goal.com

Christen Press is back after 781 days, with Angel City FC confirming that the USWNT star is ready to return from a two-year ACL injury nightmare.