Bad news for Olympic champions Canada four months before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand: top striker Janine Beckie has been out for at least six months with a cruciate ligament tear in her right knee.
Beckie’s club Portland Thorns, champions in the US league NWSL, announced the news on Friday. “Heartbroken is an understatement,” Beckie later wrote on Twitter.
The 28-year-old suffered the injury in the first half of a Thorns friendly against the USA U23 team. “I’ve worked so hard for one of the greatest seasons of my life,” Beckie tweeted. Her goals were the successful defense of the title with Portland and, of course, the World Cup with the Canadian team: “The fact that I’m going to be out for a long time now is a bitter pill.”
The striker has scored 36 goals in 101 caps for Canada. At the World Cup, Canada are in a group with Ireland, Nigeria and co-hosts Australia. They will play their first game in Melbourne on July 21 against Nigeria.