Press returns to Angel City training two years after ACL tear

Christen Press has returned to Angel City training, a significant milestone on the forward’s long road to recovery after an ACL tear.

Press initially suffered a torn ACL in June 2022. That injury has been followed by a number of setbacks, as the 35-year-old revealed last summer that she was forced to undergo a fourth surgery on the issue.

After making a series of gradual steps toward a return over the past year, Angel City announced on Monday that Press would return to team training.

“Christen Press will take the next step in her rehab and join the team for the beginning of training for the first time since being placed on the season ending injury list in 2022,” the NWSL club said in an update to media.

Press spoke to The Athletic after the news was revealed, saying that she wasn’t initially planning on having media present when she made her first steps back on the team training pitch.

“When I first told Angel City [about my return], I was thinking, ‘Let’s just keep it closed, let me come in on a day when no one’s going to be there and let’s just see how it is,'” Press said.

“Then I reversed, I changed my mind, because I was like, ‘Shoot, who knows how many milestones I have left to celebrate? Who knows what’s going to happen after this first team training?’ So if this is something we can all celebrate, let’s just go for it, because this journey has been really, really long.”

Press played in eight games with Angel City in 2022, the club’s inaugural season, scoring two goals. She most recently played for the U.S. women’s national team at the Olympics in 2021. Overall, Press has has made 155 appearances for the USWNT and is ninth all-time with 64 goals scored.

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