Gotham FC’s backline took successful this week because the membership confirmed Friday that star middle again Emily Sonnett suffered a season-ending knee harm.
Sonnett left the pitch on a stretcher with a left knee harm early in Gotham’s 2-2 attract Portland on July 24.
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The membership introduced Friday that Sonnett had surgical procedure to restore the ruptured patellar tendon in her left knee and can miss the rest of the 2026 season.
Sonnett’s harm shouldn’t be solely a giant blow for the defending NWSL champions, who’re at present second within the standings behind the Washington Spirit, but additionally probably for the U.S. ladies’s nationwide staff, with the 2027 World Cup taking place in lower than 11 months.
Gotham did not present a restoration timeline. Restoration from the surgical procedure can fluctuate between six and 12 months.
“Emily has the complete assist of everybody on the membership, and we will likely be along with her each step of the way in which all through her restoration,” Gotham president of soccer operations Yael Averbuch West stated in a press release. “She is extremely resilient, and we all know she is going to return stronger.”
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Sonnett has served as an anchor to Gotham’s protection the previous three seasons, together with in final 12 months’s championship run, the 2025 Concacaf W Champions Cup and this 12 months’s NWSL Problem Cup
Gotham FC star defender Emily Sonnett, who had season-ending surgical procedure on Friday, suffered the harm in a 2-2 draw vs. the Portland Thorns on July 24, 2026 at Windfall Park. roy Wayrynen-Imagn Photos
This season, Gotham is tied with the Spirit for fewest targets allowed with 12.
Sonnett, a three-time NWSL champion, has appeared in 64 matches for Gotham since she joined the staff forward of the 2024 season. The previous No. 1 general decide has earned three all-league defender honors.
Sonnett has made 118 appearances for the U.S. ladies’s nationwide staff. She’s a two-time Olympian, capturing the gold on the 2024 Paris Video games. She was additionally a member of the staff that gained the 2019 FIFA World Cup.