The most heartbreaking thing in sport is when a player who constantly puts their physicality on the line for their profession ends up succumbing to an injury that stops them from playing the game they loved in the first place. Though it doesn’t happen too often, it happens often enough to sting. Bobby Orr had to retire from the NHL on account of a knee injury, and BO Jackson, who played both in the NFL and MLB had the latter part of his career cut short on account of a dislocated hip! It happens, and it’s never easy, as former USWNT midfielder Tobin Heath must be feeling right now.

Heath announced her retirement from professional soccer earlier today, following a 2 years 10 months hiatus from any professional appearances. The reason for this was a serious knee injury that required multiple surgeries. The state of her knee is so bad that apart from professional soccer being out of the question, even casually kicking a ball is no longer an option. A heartwrenching realization for Heath, who said of her love for the sport, “For me, that was the greatest gift that had ever been given to me and such a core part of my identity and how I express myself and know myself to be.” So to say this must be a hard day for Tobin Heath is an understatement, but luckily she has the support of her team to help her through this time.

On Christen Press and Tobin Heath’s podcast, The Recap, there is currently a premiere version of Heath’s response to this news. The video starts with kind words from Heath’s former teammates, wife (Press) and friends: “I will miss training with you, playing with you, watching you on the field, during my small stint as a wag.” Christen Press, who herself suffered an ACL tear in 2022 and required two years to recover, can personally understand the impacts of injury on one’s career and having to watch her partner from the sidelines as she recovered.

Former captain of the USWNT, Megan Rapinoe, also shared some kind words for Heath, saying, “Thank you for the show, man,” referring to Heath’s unparalleled skills on the field that saw her and her team through two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals!

The nature of Tobin Heath’s knee injury that brought on her early retirement

As she was preparing for the 2020 Olympics, which eventually took place in 2021 Heath started feeling a pinch in her knee that turned out to be a hole in her knee cartilage that then required two surgeries to fix, and only temporarily. Though Heath managed to play in that Olympic series and score a bronze, she still wasn’t back to her best shape and ultimately had to have many more surgeries to try and address the issue.

On August 14th 2022 Heath played a game with the Seattle Reign against Gotham FC, winning 4-1. She didn’t know it at the time, but this would become her last professional soccer game, ending her USWNT career with 181 appearances, 36 goals, 42 assists and 10,171 minutes played.

Tobin Heath once said of how she discovered her love for soccer, “I was four years old, and I just immediately felt a click as soon as I touched the soccer ball. It was like destiny,” so there is no doubt that this next leg of her journey is going to be difficult. However, she has her family by her side, and according to Christen Press, she’s already preparing to ride a short stint in the Tour de France, and hey, the couple even have a new puppy to help tide them through this time! So, onwards to Tobin Heath, this is not the end but a new beginning.