Emma Hayes gives timeline for Catarina Macario's return: could be back with the USWNT in January

Nearly a year without setting foot on a field for an official match, and finally there's a date on the horizon. Emma Hayes offered the most concrete timeline yet on Tuesday for the return of Catarina Macario: the forward could be back with the United States national team at the January camp.

It's not a done deal, more of an educated hope. That much was clear from the coach herself when asked directly about the timeline.

Do I hope Catarina Macario is available for the January camp? That's my hope. Do I think she could come back sooner? The question would be at what cost. She also has to respond well to the whole process. She's out on the grass, she's training. I think building up that tolerance is the next important step for her.Emma Hayes

That January camp, according to sources consulted by ESPN, will take place outside the FIFA window and includes a friendly match. For Macario it would mean more than just getting minutes on the field: it would be the first real step toward the bigger goal, fighting for a spot at the 2027 World Cup, set to be played in Brazil, the country where she was born.

An ordeal that began in the ankle and ended in the knee

The player hasn't competed for club or country since December. Her move to San Diego Wave in March, following a $300,000 transfer fee from Chelsea and a record NWSL contract worth roughly $8 million guaranteed on a cumulative basis, never came with a clear timeline for her debut. And reality turned out to be harsher than expected: in early September, the club placed her on the season-ending injury list.

Hayes explained the chain of physical issues the forward has dealt with: "When she moved to San Diego, she was dealing with the Achilles. She resolves that Achilles issue, but then her knee gets inflamed. So then you have to deal with the impact of that." A club spokesperson had previously confirmed to ESPN that Macario underwent, at some point during the year, "a minor procedure to address a persistent knee issue."

The player herself shared the news on her Instagram account this month, posting a photo on crutches with her right knee wrapped. She was honest about how she felt.

To be completely honest, it sucks to find myself in this position again. I would never have chosen to be here, but over the years I've learned that there's always something to gain even in the moments you wouldn't choose for yourself.Catarina Macario

When healthy, Macario is a clear candidate to be the United States' offensive centerpiece. Just look at her three goals split across two wins over Italy in late 2025, the last time she wore the national team jersey. Before that she had already been a standout at Stanford, winning two Hermann Trophies as the top player in college soccer, and jumped straight to the professional ranks with Olympique Lyonnais before earning US citizenship in 2020, the year of her first call-up. She had moved to the United States with her family at age 12.

Her knee, however, has been her biggest obstacle since 2022, when she tore the ACL in her left knee in Lyon's final French league match of the season. That injury kept her out of the 2023 World Cup. She then joined Chelsea in June of that same year, made her debut in March 2024, but a "persistent irritation" in her right knee forced her to withdraw from the 2024 Olympics despite having been called up. She had previously been part of the team that won bronze at Tokyo 2021.

Macario isn't the only significant injury on Hayes' list. Defender Emily Sonnett and midfielder Olivia Moultrie are also out after undergoing knee procedures, right before the two October friendlies against reigning world champion Spain. Each is working through a different recovery timeline ahead of next year's World Cup, and the coach acknowledged how hard it is to give certainty in these situations.

This is one of the hardest things to always answer for the press, when a player suffers an injury. Everyone wants a straightforward answer about the return, but it just doesn't work that way.Emma Hayes

Macario turns 27 on Sunday. The 2027 NWSL season kicks off on February 11, and the World Cup begins on June 24 of that year, so time, at least for now, seems to be on her side.