Christen Press, a contributing member on both the USWNT's 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cup championship rosters, will not be a part of the team's title defense in 2023.
Press is not among the 23-player roster this season, and is an inactive player for the Los Angeles' Angel City roster in the NWSL, where she has been under contract since 2021. She injured her ACL in June 2022, and hasn't played since, instead undergoing three surgeries — with one more to come — on a long road to recovery.
The 34-year-old indicated on Instagram that, despite this injury being one athletes fear most, she will attempt one more appearance at the Women's World Cup. Just, not in 2023.
Press has enjoyed both an international and state-side career in soccer, getting drafted fourth overall in the 2011 WPS Draft to the Washington Freedom (later magicJack). She has most notably been a part of the Chicago Red Stars and Manchester United rosters, and spent time with two different Swedish teams.
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Here's what the star forward is up to today, and why she's absent from the USWNT 2023 roster:
Where is Christen Press?
Christen Press not only isn't part of the USWNT roster, but also hasn't played soccer this season.
The forward suffered an ACL injury in Angel City's 3-2 win over Racing Louisville in June 2022, and has since undergone a lengthy recovery that such an injury requires. She has had three surgeries already and is preparing for her fourth, which she announced on her social media.
Press did not specify when exactly her next surgery is, and when her ultimate return could be.
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Christen Press USWNT career stats
Press, 34 years old, has been a part of the USWNT since 2013, two years prior to the team's first of two consecutive Women's World Cup titles. Here are all-time stats with the USWNT:
| Appearances | Shots | Shots on Goal | Goals | Assists | World Cups |
| 155 | 221 | 96 | 64 | 43 | 2 (2015, 2019) |
Christen Press NWSL stats 2022
Press has played professionally since 2009, and first played in the NWSL in 2014 as part of the Chicago Red Stars. She has been under contract with Angel City FC since 2021. Here are her stats for the 2022 season, in which she played eight games before tearing her ACL:
| Successful/Total passes | Shots | Shots on Goal | Goals | Assists |
| 158/217 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
Christen Press NCAA records
Press broke numerous program records while playing for Stanford women's soccer from 2007-10. That includes career points (183), goals (71), assists (41) and shots (500). She also set a single-season record for shots (180) and game-winning goals (10).
She received both National Player of the Year honors and the Hermann Trophy as a senior in 2010.
