San Diego Wave FC put Dudinha on the season-ending injury list in the Matchweek 11 Saturday availability report, a significant blow for a club trying to restart the NWSL with one of its attackers already ruled out for the year. Seattle Reign also listed Claudia Dickey as unavailable because of an ankle injury.
The timing matters because the NWSL is back for the first time in more than a month, and the league’s return begins with a weekend slate that includes Fourth of July matches. For San Diego, the absences do not stop with Dudinha. Cat Macario is out with a heel injury and Kiki Pickett is out with an ankle injury, giving the Wave multiple gaps before the ball is even kicked.
That same Saturday report shows the problem is not limited to one club. Gotham FC listed Kayla Duran and Taryn Torres as out with knee injuries and season-ending injury designations, while Mak Whitham is away with the U-17 USWNT. North Carolina Courage are missing Payton Crawford, Natalie Jacobs and Sydney Schmidt, and Seattle Reign also ruled out Lynn Biyendolo on maternity leave, Jess Fishlock with a lower leg injury and Shae Holmes with a knee injury.
The one thing the availability sheet cannot do is hide the scale of the interruptions. A league can restart after a long break, but it still has to absorb the loss of players who are out for the year, out for maternity leave or away on international duty, and this weekend’s report shows several clubs beginning Matchweek 11 short-handed. For Dudinha, the next step is simple and severe: there is no return date to track, only the season already closed.
