U.S. women's soccer star Alex Morgan injured, out for NWSL season

Sept. 17 (UPI) -- United States Women's National Team soccer star Alex Morgan will miss the rest of the season for the NWSL's Orlando Pride after sustaining a knee injury.

The Pride announced Morgan's injury status Monday, saying she has a patella stress reaction in her right knee, stemming from a prior injury she received while with the U.S. women's team.

"This year has had the highest of highs, but along with that comes challenges and sometimes even falling short of my goals I set for myself in 2019," Morgan wrote on Instagram. "I'm disappointed I won't be able to compete with the Pride for the remainder of 2019 due to a knee injury I've been managing since the World Cup, and that I can't be there to help my teammates and my club have more success.

"Thank you fans, friends, teammates, and teams for all your support. I have already started physical therapy in LA and am eager to get back on the field doing what I love."

Morgan, 30, has appeared in six matches this season for the Pride. She played the full 90 minutes in four of those games prior to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and appeared in two games for the Pride after winning the World Cup, but received a concussion in Orlando's match against Chicago Aug. 21.

"It's obviously difficult to lose a player of Alex's caliber due to injury," Orlando Pride general manager Erik Ustruck said in a news release. "However, after consulting with the club's medical team at Orlando Health and U.S. Soccer, we felt it was in the best interest of Alex's long-term health to shut her down for the season to focus on the rehabilitation process and take the appropriate time to recover from the lingering knee injury."

Morgan has 33 goals and 18 assists in her NWSL career. She has 18 scores and seven assists for Orlando.