Angel City defender Riley admits current injury could end career

Angel City FC defender Ali Riley has admitted that her current nerve injury may prevent her from ever playing professionally again.

Riley, 36, has not played for Angel City since April, with her most recent appearance of any kind coming in a May friendly with New Zealand.

Ahead of the Olympics, New Zealand announced that Riley had been withdrawn from the roster for the tournament in France, taking away her chance to play at a fifth Olympics.

After she was ruled out for the Olympics, Riley posted a message on Instagram detailing her injury.

“For the past seven months I’ve been struggling with a nerve injury,” she said. “It’s been frustrating, confusing, and excruciatingly painful in a way that’s hard to describe. The Ferns & ACFC medical and performance staff did everything possible to get me healthy for this Olympics (rehab, injections, strength, conditioning, treatment, medication, more injections) and I am so grateful to all of them.

“During this camp there have been bad days along with the good, and due to the unpredictable nature of this injury my coach decided that it would be best for the team to withdraw me completely from the squad.”

Over the weekend, Riley did a Q&A with a local organization for girls in sports and admitted that she may have played her final game.

“Who I am is not just a soccer player,” Riley said . “What I’ve learned from being a soccer player has made me who I am, but my identity goes so much beyond what I can do on a soccer field.

“And so in those dark, dark moments when I was like, ‘Can I get back?’ I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t run, and then even now, when I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to play soccer again. That’s the reality of the injury I have right now.”

Riley has been capped 162 times by New Zealand and has featured in five World Cups.

The defender began her pro career in WPS with FC Gold Pride in 2010, and has gone on to play in Norway, England and Germany along with the NWSL.

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