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Brazil's Bia Out Of Olympics With Stress Fracture
Brazil forward Bia Zaneratto said in an Instagram post on Sunday that she has a stress fracture in her foot that will prevent her from competing in the Paris Olympics, which begin later this month.
"Bia," as she is commonly known, left Friday's Kansas City Current game at halftime. She has struggled with a foot injury throughout the NWSL season that caused her to miss four of the Current's 15 games.
"For a few months I've been struggling with plantar fasciitis pain," she wrote in her Instagram post. "Those who've had it know how painful it is and especially for us athletes having to race against the weather to be well as soon as possible to do our job. "I've always considered myself very strong, a person who can really stand pain. I overcame myself during those months to be able to play and have the chance to be in another Olympics.
"But in the last game I ended up with a stress fracture in the fourth metatarsal that takes away any chance of living the Olympic dream."
Bia, 30, has over 100 caps for Brazil. She began playing for Brazil at the age of 14 at the 2008 FIFA under-17 World Cup.
She began her senior career three years later, with her first cap coming in a 3-0 friendly win over Chile. She has 103 appearances for Brazil with 36 goals. She is a veteran of four FIFA World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019, 2023) and two Olympic games (2016, 2020).
Despite dealing with the lingering foot issue, she has been integral to Kansas City's unbeaten start, tallying five goals and four assists in 11 matches.
A Kansas City Current spokesperson said the team is awaiting full medical updates for a timeline on Bia's return to the field.
"I don't even need to say how much it hurts in my heart to go through this, but I sure did my best," Bia wrote. "I did everything I could. I accept that it was meant to be like this, there are things that no matter how much we want, it's not meant to be."
Sixteen-year-old forward Alex Pfeiffer also left Friday's game moments after coming on in the second half.
A Current spokesperson said postgame that Pfeiffer was being evaluated for a knee injury. The team has not provided an update since.
The Current host the Orlando Pride, who are also unbeaten through 15 games, on Saturday.
The teams have identical records and goal differences. It is the last match before the league takes a six-week break from the regular season for the Olympics.
Kansas City will play in multiple international tournaments -- and will host all six scheduled games --during that time.
