USWNT's Emma Hayes awaits updates on Sophia Smith, Jaedyn Shaw's injuries at 2024 Paris Olympics

U.S. women's national team head coach Emma Hayes said there was no update on forwards Sophia Smith and Jaedyn Shaw after injuries hampered their involvement in the group's 3-0 win over Zambia in their opening match of the Olympics on Thursday.

Hayes said the pair will be assessed upon the team's return to Marseille, France, where they are based during the group stages of the Olympics and will play their next two games against Germany and Australia.

Shaw was omitted from the 18-person gameday roster in Nice after picking up a leg injury and was replaced by alternate Croix Bethune, who was an unused substitute. The swap was enabled by a rule change at the Olympics , allowing alternates to replace players on a game-by-game basis as long as teams provide six hours' notice to tournament organizers. Previously, players were only upgraded to the roster if another player was ruled out of the competition entirely with an injury.

Smith, meanwhile, started the game but came off in the 42nd minute after picking up an undisclosed injury. Lynn Williams entered the game in her place.

The U.S. are currently joint leaders in Group B with Germany, who picked up a 3-0 win over Australia earlier on Thursday. The group leaders will meet in Marseille on Sunday, a match that could offer one team an advantage in topping Group B by week's end.

Managing player minutes

The severity of both Shaw and Smith's injuries is unknown at this time, though Hayes seems to be taking a conservative approach with player fitness at the Olympics. She made all five changes as the U.S. were up 3-0 by the 25th minute and then had a player advantage with Pauline Zulu's red card in the 34th minute.

One of the first substitutions came at halftime when Hayes took off Rose Lavelle for Korbin Albert. Lavelle did not appear to be injured but the head coach seems unwilling to take any risks with Lavelle, who was scratched from the lineup in last Tuesday's send-off game against Costa Rica after dealing with a leg issue during warm-ups. Goalscorers Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman also came off in the 65th minute, as did captain Lindsey Horan after notching two assists.

Minute management is going to be key for the U.S. at the Olympics, which are essentially a more frenzied version of a Women's World Cup. Teams will play as many as six games in as few as 17 days and have just 18 players to choose from rather than the 23 who were called into World Cup squads last year.