Mallory Swanson knew the odds were against her.
She knew it would be a virtual certainty that she wouldn't recover in time from a torn patellar tendon suffered in an April friendly. The U.S. 2023 World Cup roster would be revealed in June with the Americans' first match set for July 21.
Yet there was a time when no matter what the internet told her, no matter what the doctors said, she was determined that she was going to do the impossible.
"Honestly, there was a good time where I was like 'I'm going to make it in time,'" Swanson told The Sporting News.
"Realistically, anyone can go on Google and look up the recovery time for my injury, and it didn't really correlate [with my expectations], but I was like 'I'm gonna do it.'"
That didn't happen. She isn't going to the Women's World Cup, because Swanson is a human being with a human knee that suffered a torn patellar tendon. Recovering to play just four months after suffering an injury that typically requires a year-long recovery timeline was always an unlikely expectation.
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So when it became clear that she wouldn't be a part of the World Cup squad, she changed her focus to a mindset of positivity.
"Obviously, I'm not [going to the World Cup], which is completely fine," Swanson said. "I feel like there's something I'm going to get out of this, something that I can't wrap my head around right now. What could be better than not going to the World Cup?
"Something really good is coming out of this, only time will tell," Swanson continued. "That's where my mind has gone, and it's an every day kind of thing that I've been processing."
Perhaps that 'something' is the example she's setting for the next generation of USWNT stars.
Swanson was enlisted to present the 2023 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to Texas native Kennedy Fuller. Speaking to the Sporting News after the presentation, Fuller echoed Swanson's words, without prompting.
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"The thing that stuck with me the most [in speaking with Mallory Swanson] was that she said not everyone's path is the same," Fuller said, reflecting on her time with the USWNT star.
"Even if you do the same exact thing as the person next to you, your paths are going to be completely different. It means be yourself, be who you want to be, and turn yourself into the best version of yourself."
Fuller went out of her way to highlight how Swanson sharing her own experience with adversity has already left a lasting impression. And more than anything specific that Swanson said about her journey back from injury and the resulting disappointment, it was the mere fact that she took the time to speak with the 18-year-old that really stuck with the youth soccer star.
"Her being there just talking to me, it was really like: 'Everything's going to be ok,'" Fuller said. "She's inspiring a lot more people than I think she realizes. Even though she's not on the soccer field doing what she thinks she does best, she's still inspiring so many more people than she did before."
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How Swanson is bouncing back from World Cup disappointment
Obviously, like any person dealing with a major course correction in life, negative emotions are part of the process. But Swanson is letting those rear their head so she can work through them, rather than burying any feelings of anger, frustration, sadness, or confusion that naturally accompany an untimely injury for a star athlete.
"I've worked with a mental health coach and he always says the way to it is through it," Swanson said. "You just have to feel those things and let them...you can't shove anything aside, because later down the road it will come up. You just have to feel them, and it's completely normal to feel sad, disappointed, or whatever it is."
It has been the latest life challenge for Swanson after marrying her new husband Dansby Swanson, a baseball player for the Chicago Cubs. In their first year of marriage, the couple has had to work through Dansby's free agency and a potential move, Mallory's injury, plus injury recovery for Dansby, as well.
The past few months have been so taxing for Dansby that he removed himself from a game earlier this year due to fatigue. He had been by Mal's side through the initial stages of her knee injury, including surgery.
"We keep saying the first year of marriage has been quite the year, I don't think anyone can write this stuff," Mal said.
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For now, there's no timeline for Mallory Swanson's recovery. She's no longer focused on pushing herself for a specific return date.
"Nope, no idea [when I'll be back]," she said. "Very much taking it day by day, that's the best way I can do it right now, and it gives me the most peace of mind.
"My husband's dad, a couple years ago when I was going through some adversity, said 'keep on keepin on' and I think that's something I wake up every day and...you just have to keep going, I don't have any other option. At the end of it all, you'll look back and go 'ah, that's why that happened.'"
One thing is for sure, she'll be cheering the USWNT on at the World Cup this summer. Swanson knows that even without her, the team has the talent to become the first ever in FIFA history, men's or women's, to win three straight World Cup titles.
"I'm just excited to cheer them on and watch, even though the games will be on at 3 a.m. or something," Swanson said with a chuckle. "I might have to record and turn my phone off so I don't know what's going on, and then watch in the morning, because I need my sleep."
