Wambach has stoic approach
Abby Wambach began to heal the instant after she fractured two bones in her left leg during the U.S. women’s soccer team’s final match before the Beijing Games.
Wambach, a prolific forward and vocal leader, knew immediately that her collision with a Brazilian defender last Wednesday in San Diego had wiped out her Olympic visions.
“My knee was pointing up and my foot was pointing in a little bit of a different direction,” she said.
But she didn’t cry on the field, and she didn’t weep after undergoing surgery the next day to insert a titanium rod and screws to stabilize the leg and begin a recovery that might take 10 months.
Wambach, eerily calm then, was equally composed Monday during a conference call with reporters. Her initial reaction may have stemmed from shock, but she also was determined to keep a stoic face for her teammates and not distract them from winning that game -- or give them reason to think they can’t win the gold medal without her bold play on the ground and in the air.
“It was an all-encompassing moment for me,” she said of accepting the devastating nature of her injury.
“I wasn’t freaked out about what was ahead, what was in store for the team. Yes, I know I’m a very important player for the team. But in the moment, it made me realize even more how insignificant one player is in a team environment.
“It really does take a team to win championships. That was my experience in 2004. The team that’s going to Beijing wants to win a gold medal, and that’s the only way they’ll be able to do it.”
Wambach joked that substitute Natasha Kai did exactly as Wambach instructed by scoring the winning goal. She also said she called her replacement, UCLA standout Lauren Cheney, from the hospital and urged Cheney to seize the moment.
Whoever fills her role, whether Kai, Cheney or USC star Amy Rodriguez, “I know all three of those players are totally capable of scoring goals because they have all this year,” said Wambach, the top U.S. scorer with 13 goals and 10 assists and among the all-time scoring leaders with 99 goals in 127 games.
“So many more people are getting involved. And I’m excited to see how it all turns out. Truthfully, I really can’t wait to know.”
Wambach said she underwent her first physical therapy session Monday and has been told she can put light pressure on the leg. She expects to be on crutches four to six weeks and to “start moving a little bit more nimbly” after about 12 weeks. Anything after that depends on how rapidly the bone repairs itself. Full recovery could take six months, seven or longer, though she hopes to return next April for the launch of the new league, Women’s Professional Soccer.
Her teammates are scheduled to go through Olympic processing today in the Bay Area and to fly to China on Wednesday. Wambach plans to follow their Olympic progress on the big-screen TV in her Hermosa Beach living room, her leg propped up before her.
“I don’t feel sorry for myself. I’m not going to cry victim,” she said.
“I’m a moving part on this team. I do not encapsulate the whole. I am a part. Without all of the moving parts the bus moves a little bit different, but I know the team that will be fielded for China is going to be a great team.
“There’s no doubt in my heart, no doubt in my mind, no doubt in my soul this team can win a gold medal.”
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