Pride forward Alex Morgan recently returned to Orlando after a short spell with French side Olympique Lyon. During the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final - which Lyon ended up winning - Morgan sustained a hamstring injury that has temporarily sidelined the dynamic forward.
When asked about the status of Morgan’s injury, Orlando Head Coach Tom Sermanni informed reporters she is recovering quite well.
“Alex [Morgan] completed a lot of the session this morning, and she’s still out there working,” Sermanni said at the Pride’s training session this morning. “She’s feeling really good today.”
With recovery going smoothly, it looks like Morgan’s return to the Pride starting lineup is imminent.
Pride goalkeeper and emotional leader Ashlyn Harris is also nearing full recovery after sustaining a muscle injury earlier this year.
“Ashlyn [Harris] feels terrific,” Tom Sermanni told reporters this morning. “She’s now at the end of week five in her rehab, so it’s going along as planned and we said 6-8 weeks. Hopefully, her return will be somewhere in the middle of that.”
These two players coming back into the fold for the Pride bodes well for Orlando fans; maybe not so much for the rest of NWSL.
At training this morning, Tom Sermanni also commented on Pride defender Toni Pressley and her role as a vital part of his team:
“She’s been superb for us this season,” he said. “Toni [Pressley] has gone away in the offseason and put in an amazing regime to get herself in the shape she’s in now. We never questioned her ability. What she’s done now is taken all those other aspects of her game to a new level. Physically, she’s better now and with that her level of concentration is better, her confidence is better, and now you’re seeing somebody who has been outstanding for us this season.”
Pressley and the Pride are back in action this Wednesday against Sky Blue FC. With a road victory, Orlando could surge into fourth place in the NWSL standings.
