Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle to play limited minutes at World Cup

July 21 (UPI) -- Midfielder Rose Lavelle and forward Megan Rapinoe will play on limited minutes at the 2023 Women's World Cup, United States National Team manager Vlatko Andonovski told reporters Friday.

The U.S. women will start their quest for a record third-consecutive World Cup title with their tournament opener against Vietnam at 9 p.m. EDT Friday in Auckland, New Zealand.

"Everybody's healthy and available for play," Andonovski said. "We may have a couple players who will have limited minutes, but everybody from a health perspective or medical side, is ready to play."

Lavelle, Rapinoe and Julie Ertz missed the USA's final game before the World Cup, a 2-0 win over Wales on July 9 in San Jose, Calif.

Lavelle injured her knee April 9 and hasn't played since. Rapinoe hasn't played since June 10 because of a calf injury.

"Rose actually has been really good," Andonovski said. "She has trained with the team now for a good three weeks, and off and on she trained with us before that. She's ready to play and we're not going to force a lot of minutes from the beginning. We'll ease everything up as we move on."

Andonovski said midfielder Julie Ertz, who overcame a knee injury and returned from maternity leave, is "100%" healthy.

"From minutes management, Julie is 100%, where Megan is in the same boat like Rose," Andonovski said. "Her minutes are probably going to grow as the tournament goes by."

Rapinoe, who will make her 200th international appearance Friday, has announced that she will retire after the 2023 NWSL season. The two-time World Cup champion won Golden Boot and Golden Ball honors, given to the top goal-scorer and top player at the tournament, at the 2019 competition.

Andonovski said Rapinoe will have a "different role" at the 2023 World Cup. The U.S. roster features several star forwards, including fellow veteran Alex Morgan and phenoms Sophia Smith (22), Trinity Rodman (21) and Alyssa Thompson (18).

Coverage of the U.S. women's game against Vietnam will air on Fox. The U.S. women will face the Netherlands in their second group stage game at 9 p.m. Wednesday in Wellington, New Zealand. They will finish Group E play with a game against Portugal at 3 a.m. Aug. 1 in Auckland.