Abby Dahlkemper took to her TikTok account last Friday to provide an update on the back injury that has kept her out of action since October.
The San Diego Wave and U.S. women’s national team defender missed the 2022 NWSL playoffs due to the injury, for which she underwent surgery two months ago.
Dahlkemper, while sporting black sunglasses and driving her car, recorded a video in which she discussed her transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) surgery. The procedure targeted sciatic nerve pain that had been impacting her left leg throughout the 2022 NWSL season.
“It turns out that I had a cyst and bone fragments hitting my nerve roots, so it was very much needed,” she said.
While Dahlkemper was named to the 2022 SheBelieves Cup roster for the USWNT last February, she had to withdraw due to a back injury. She played for the Wave during the preseason Challenge Cup before missing time with COVID-19, then returned only to fracture her ribs in May.
“Although I’m so sad to face another setback, I am more determined than ever to get back on the field as soon as possible,” Dahlkemper wrote in an Instagram post at the time.
She returned to the pitch in…
