Janine Beckie Suffers Torn ACL, Will Miss 2023 Season
By On Friday things took a turn for the worse as Canadian superstar Janine Beckie suffered an injury and is out for the rest of 2023.
As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Canadian Women’s National team amidst their ongoing labour dispute, Janine Beckie suffered an injury in a preseason game and needed to be taken off the field on a stretcher.
This evening the news confirmed the worse news possible: Beckie had suffered a torn ACL and will miss both the NWSL season and the World Cup this summer.
This is a massive blow to a team that has been fighting not only for glory on the Women’s world stage but also for pay equity and gender equality, with Beckie being at the forefront of it all.
“Heartbroken is an understatement,” Beckie said in a statement on her Twitter account.
“Having worked so hard during the off-season for what was set to be one of the biggest seasons of my career, defending the title for Portland Thorns and of course playing in the World Cup for Canada, being out for an extended period of time is a difficult pill to swallow.”
The Portland Thorns confirmed that she will have surgery in the next few weeks to repair the injury.
The torn ACL means that she will officially miss the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which starts on July 20 with Canada facing Nigeria in their first group stage match.
Beckie broke a milestone last month at the SheBelieves Cup when she played her 100th cap against Brazil in Nashville a game Canada won 2-0.
Beckie is able to play a variety of positions, go at goal or deliver a telling cross.
“She could probably play right back, right-wing, right or left wing, midfield, to be honest,” Priestman said in advance of the Brazil game. “I actually think she’s played the (No.) 9 and goalkeeper.”
“I think Janine’s true football quality is what makes her so versatile,” Priestman had continued. “And then you go and add her athleticism… she’s not only contributing to this team on the pitch but also off the pitch. She’s grown in her leadership and is just an incredible human being.”
“There’s a long way to go for Janine. I think that’s the exciting thing,” Priestman said at the SheBelieves Cup. “She probably hasn’t reached her true potential yet, albeit she’s had some incredible performances and been a key contributor to everything this team’s done.”
Beckie could still potentially travel with the team to the World Cup as she was in Qatar with TSN for the men’s World Cup as an analyst and she did an amazing job.