Spirit’s Andi Sullivan out for season with torn ACL: What it means for ailing squad ahead of playoffs

Washington Spirit midfielder Andi Sullivan will miss the remainder of the 2024 NWSL season after suffering a torn ACL last weekend, the club announced Wednesday. Until her injury, Sullivan was a regular starter for the Spirit this season and one of the team’s key players in their push for the 2024 playoffs.

Sullivan exited in the final moments of the Spirit’s match against the Orlando Pride on Sunday following a challenge against Orlando’s Summer Yates. Fellow Spirit players immediately gestured for medical staff to tend to Sullivan, who left the field via stretcher after an extensive evaluation.

The club said Sullivan will remain in the market through her recovery, and work with the Spirit’s Performance, Medical and Innovation department.

Andi Sullivan will miss the remainder of the 2024 season with injury.

— Washington Spirit – x (@WashSpirit) October 9, 2024

While the Spirit remain in second place on the NWSL table and are guaranteed a quarterfinal at home at Audi Field, they have struggled as of late with injuries. Four players already have season-ending injuries, including rookie sensation Croix Bethune. And on Sunday in the loss to Orlando, their availability report also marked out forward Trinity Rodman due to back issues, defender Casey Krueger (hip), forward Chloe Ricketts (knee), midfielder Leicy Santos (thigh) and forward Ouleymata Sarr (back).

But Sullivan has been a central leader and the heart of the Washington Spirit team for multiple seasons, alongside players like goalkeeper and captain Aubrey Kingsbury. This is a blow, even as the rest of the team will understand their responsibility to step up in Sullivan’s absence.

While coach Jonatan Giráldez did not have any immediate updates on Sullivan’s injury after the final whistle in his post-game news conference, he said first impressions of the injury were not good.

“In terms of injuries, right now it’s not been a good situation for the team because we are missing several players,” he said. “But I always want to see the positive thing — different players had the opportunity to play, to compete today.”

Giráldez said they would await the results of Sullivan’s medical exam, then move forward “and decide what is the best for the team in the short future.”

Now, he’ll be attempting to solve another major absence for the Spirit with the postseason only a few weeks away.