“Shocked”: NWSL Community Reacts to Gotham FC Boss Latest Statement on Rose Lavelle’s Return

November 16, 2024 — That was the last time Rose Lavelle was seen in action. It was during this very NWSL playoff semifinal clash against the Washington Spirit that NJ/NY Gotham FC not only lost in a penalty shootout despite holding their rivals to a draw, but also lost their star midfielder. Since then, Lavelle has remained sidelined, putting in the work every day to make her much-anticipated return. While there’s still no clear timeline for her comeback, an interesting development emerged earlier this week.

The Bats kick-started their NWSL match day 8 on a rather marred note, enduring a narrow defeat against Racing Louisville at Lynn Family Stadium. Interestingly, in the aftermath of the game, the Prime Video broadcast crew alleged that Lavelle’s potential return date from the injury is set, insisting that the USWNT midfielder will be back in the mix by the end of this month.

However, that turned out to be a false alarm as head coach Juan Carlos Amorós was himself caught off guard after hearing this assertion. In fact, during the post-match presser, the Spanish tactician did the honors to clear this false narrative surrounding his star player. “I think with Rose, we are still working on it,” began Amorós, as compiled by Pro Soccer Wire. “There is nothing confirmed from me or the club that that is the target.”

While underscoring the importance of Lavelle, the Gotham boss insisted that the 29-year-old is working really hard behind the scenes and is desperate to start helping her teammates. However, that still didn’t see the 40-year-old boss mention anything about Rose’s potential return date. “I hope we can have her with us as soon as possible, but at the moment, we don’t have any specific timeline in terms of when she will be back.”

“The target, what we are doing, is trying to get her [back] as soon as possible, in the best shape possible, and that takes a little bit of a process,” concluded Amorós, once again making it clear that he isn’t in a position to confidently confirm whether the end of the month remains a realistic target.

Notably, back in January, Lavelle was seen using crutches while in a gray walking boot following an undisclosed ankle surgery. Interestingly, a New York Post reported that a chat with the player’s mother suggested that Rose is taking her recovery “one day at a time.” 

In fact, the former Manchester City star herself admitted that she isn’t keen to tie herself down to a particular date. Instead, she is leaving everything to nature’s recovery course. However, she did give one statement that was a relief to hear. “I hopefully shouldn’t miss too much of the season.”

Then again, it’s clear that both Gotham FC and Rose Lavelle are working together in order to see a quick collaboration on the pitch. However, in the meantime, these statements from Juan Carlos Amorós only ended up creating a commotion among the NWSL community.

NWSL world reacts to latest injury update regarding Rose Lavelle

This latest update over Rose Lavelle became a unique topic of discussion among the Reddit community. While some are agreeing with the Gotham FC boss, others have raised some interesting doubts. Well, let’s start with the latter ones, shall we?

It was good to hear from Juan Carlos Amorós about how optimistic the Spaniard is to see Rose Lavelle make her crucial return. However, this netizen is rather surprised by the manager’s claim. Now tell us if we are wrong but are we missing something here? An inside joke perhaps, cause this clearly sounds like a subtle dig: “Shocked that the coach wants to make Rose’s comeback an actual surprise!”

Now, of course, what the Gotham FC boss said in the aftermath of his side’s defeat sounds quite simple to us. Sure, it may be disheartening to hear how the Cincinnati, Ohio native is still in her recovery phase. But this Reddit user believes it’s for the best that Lavelle handles herself in her own time: “I, for one, am just fine with giving Rose all the time she needs to recover fully before she gets back out there. Putting her on the pitch too early seems dangerous given how much injury & adversity she has already dealt with during her career.”

Amorós couldn’t have made it more obvious that Lavelle had still not come to a position where she could even think of making a return. Yet, our biggest question is for the Prime Video broadcast crew, who didn’t think twice before simply assuming that Rose Lavelle would make her return at the end of May. While that is something that defies logic, this netizen alleges that there’s a reason why Amorós gave a diplomatic response: “Sounds like it probably is around what they’re targeting but Amoros really doesn’t want people to know (and/or doesn’t want the pressure on Lavelle).”

Honestly, we won’t be surprised by the fact that Amorós and Gotham FC are deliberately hiding Lavelle’s return date. And as far as those claims from Prime Video broadcasters are concerned, wait till you hear what this fan heard about the star midfielder’s injury update:

“I wonder where the Amazon people got their information? The only solid thing I have read about Lavelle’s recovery was a couple of months ago, at least when they thought she would be back by or near the beginning of the season. Obviously, that didn’t happen, and they’ve really said nothing since. Of course, the team needs her, and I am assuming she is wanting to get back as soon as she is fully healthy. Would be foolish to rush things tho, no one benefits from that.”

Be that as it may, this is just a glimpse of the reactions to the latest injury news surrounding Rose Lavelle. Juan Carlos Amorós is right to not rush his star midfielder’s return, so we might as well sit back and hope that the USWNT star gets healed as soon as possible. In the meantime, share your views in the comments.