Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman returned to the field on Sunday after nearly four months of absence. The return occurred in the match against the Portland Thorns FC. Rodman entered the match, which marked Washington’s first NWSL game since June due to the summer break, in the 76th minute. She was greeted with an ovation from the home crowd at Audi Field. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist has dealt with a recurring back injury over the past year, which has limited her appearances for both the club and the national team. Rodman’s only match with the USWNT since last summer’s Olympics was on April 5. She scored five minutes into the 2-0 victory and faked a back injury as part of her celebration. However, a week later, she was sidelined again while playing for the Spirit. She left that NWSL match on April 12 and soon departed Washington, D.C., for evaluation and treatment in London. Rodman rehabilitated individually before returning to the Spirit to train in mid-July during the NWSL summer break. Last week, Rodman told reporters that he “will remain Trin,” but added that he would be more mindful of how he uses his body in the future.
Rodman had previously said that his back might not be 100% again. Washington head coach Adrián González said before the match that the team would be “careful” with Rodman’s return management. Rodman played with pain in late 2024, when Spirit finished second in the league and runner-up in the playoffs. Rodman has become one of the biggest stars in the NWSL and the USWNT. She is in the final months of her contract, and stated earlier this year that a move to Europe is a matter of time.I’m still going to be intense and give it my all 100% of the time, but I think there are parts of my game where I need to conserve energy or adapt to certain inputs, and I think I’ve been doing a good job with that so far by retraining.
Rodman
