Now over a month into the 2026 NWSL season, everything feels like it’s building in the best way. The crowds are growing, the games feel faster, and there’s a real sense that the league is hitting another level. It’s the kind of start fans have been waiting for. But at the same time, there’s something hard to ignore.
Thirteen players are already out for the season with ACL injuries.
Hina Sugita. Alyssa Malonson. Natalia Kuikka. Jasmine Aikey. Alana Cook. Taryn Torres. Bella Bixby. Julie Dufour. Caiya Hanks. Olivia Sekany. Alex Loera. KK Ream. Kayla Duran.
This isn't just a list of names. These are starters, key contributors, and players expected to play major roles this season. Just weeks into the season, they’re already unavailable.
ACL injuries in women’s soccer are not new, but the frequency continues to stand out. Research has consistently shown that female athletes are more likely to suffer ACL tears than male athletes. Explanations often point to differences in movement patterns, such as how players land or change direction, as well as factors like hip alignment and hormone levels.
However, focusing only on biology does not fully explain what’s happening.
A larger part of the issue comes from the environment around the players. Training, equipment, scheduling, and recovery all play a role. Injury prevention programs that have been shown to reduce ACL risk are not always implemented with the same consistency across the women’s game. In many cases, players do not have access to the same level of structured development early in their careers, which can increase long-term injury risk.
There are also smaller factors that build over time. Cleats are often not designed specifically for female athletes. Field conditions can vary. As the league grows, schedules are becoming more demanding, sometimes without a corresponding increase in recovery support. Individually, these factors may seem minor, but together they contribute to a higher-risk environment.
When an ACL injury occurs, the impact goes beyond the physical.
Recovery requires surgery and months of rehabilitation, often resulting in a full season lost. It can be isolating and uncertain, especially when returning to previous form is not guaranteed. For teams, it disrupts continuity. For fans, it means losing some of the most exciting players right when the season is getting going.
While women’s soccer has grown rapidly, some of the systems supporting it have not developed at the same pace, particularly in addressing the specific demands of female athletes.
There are solutions already being discussed. More targeted warm-up and training programs. Equipment designed specifically for women. Greater emphasis on recovery and scheduling. Increased investment in research focused on women’s physiology rather than adapting findings from men’s sports.
As of this month, the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association have joined Project ACL, a global research initiative aimed at reducing ACL injuries in professional women’s soccer. The move signals a broader effort across leagues to better understand and address the issue.
“My hope and ambition is, really, that we don’t have as many ACL injuries happen in the game,” Tori Huster, a former NWSL player and the NWSLPA’s deputy executive director, said. “Over the course of the last two seasons, we have seen somewhere between 20 and 30 players sustain an ACL injury. Personally, I don’t want to see that anymore.”
“The more leagues that are a part of this, the better,” recently retired Crystal Dunn said during a player panel to help launch Project ACL. “We should be pushing for leagues to get behind this so that we support and protect the product that is on the field.”
None of these changes are unrealistic, but they have not been consistently prioritized.
The league is growing, the attention is there, and people are paying closer attention than ever. But at the same time, players are still being lost to injuries at a rate that shouldn’t feel normal.
The 2026 season should be about the goals, the rivalries, and the players defining the next era of the league. Instead, part of the story is already about who isn’t out there.
And until something changes, that will continue to be part of the conversation.
