Mallory Swanson has a torn patella tendon, putting the World Cup in question for the Chicago Red Stars forward

U.S. women’s national team star Mallory Swanson suffered a torn patella tendon in her left knee, an injury that could affect her chances of playing in this summer’s World Cup.

The Chicago Red Stars forward and wife of Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson was injured during Saturday’s friendly between the U.S. team and Ireland in Austin, Texas. She flew back to Chicago for further evaluation, according to U.S. Soccer.

The World Cup roster for the defending champion U.S. team is scheduled to be announced in June. The tournament is scheduled for July 20-Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

The injury comes as a major blow to Swanson, who appeared poised to establish herself as the national team’s preeminent goal scorer after several years of fighting her way back onto the roster.

After earning her first senior team call-up in 2016, Swanson quickly became a mainstay on the national team roster at age 17, garnering heavy attention and high expectations when she became the youngest U.S. player to score a goal in the Olympics that summer. But Swanson’s role on the national team plateaued, hampered by injuries that included a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in 2018.

That changed last year as Swanson emerged with a sharper goal-scoring focus. She had seven goals and seven assists for the national team in 2022 and added 14 goals for the Red Stars, then netted seven goals in the national team’s first six games this year.

Swanson credited this improvement to a purposeful recalibration both on and off the field, bolstered by her husband’s support. That process also helped Swanson reconnect with the joy of playing, visible in the way she cut through defenses and celebrated after each goal.

“Earlier on (in my career), there was a lot of pressure put on me,” Swanson said during Red Stars media day in March. “So being able to just be me and play on the field, I feel like you get that kind of leadership out of me. Being able to go out and ultimately have fun — it sounds so cheesy to say it, but it’s so true. That’s how you get the best of me.”

The Swansons have had a whirlwind ride since getting married in December. Dansby signed a seven-year, $177 million deal with the Cubs, and Mallory continued her career with the Red Stars while starring for the U.S. team.

At the end of Cubs spring training in Mesa, Ariz., Dansby said the thing he looked forward to the most in Chicago was seeing Mallory.

“We haven’t been together ever since we got married,” he said. “Excited to settle into a routine. As you can tell, I’m a very structured, routine guy. Being able to be back in a familiar place and be settled down will really help me a lot.”

After a rough spring training in which he had the lowest average of any player heading into the final weekend, Dansby Swanson has lived up to his billing in his first two weeks with the Cubs. He entered Sunday tied for second in the National League with a .429 average, while his defense and baserunning also have stood out.

Cubs left fielder Ian Happ described a “somber” scene in the clubhouse Saturday when the injury occurred. Mallory Swanson brought her hands together to make a heart symbol as she was carted off the field, and the sellout crowd at Q2 Stadium chanted her name.

Manager David Ross told reporters Sunday that Dansby Swanson played with “a lot of emotion, a lot of heart” after watching his wife suffer the injury.

“Everybody else is locked in on the Masters at times; he’s watching his wife play soccer,” Ross said. “Then we flipped (the game) on the TV in there.”

It was hard enough to watch on TV, but to have to play a game without knowing all the details added to the degree of difficulty. Reporters in the Wrigley Field press box wondered whether Swanson would be a late scratch from Saturday’s lineup. Instead he went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and hustled home from first base on Happ’s eighth-inning single for an insurance run.

“Kept asking him if he was all right,” Ross said. “He said, ‘Yeah, it’s time to go to work.’ He’s professional but also played with a lot on his mind and in his heart.

”It’s just who he is. He loves to be out there, to compete with his teammates, but he’s also a family man and a religious man and gives his all on everything he does.”