03-26-2019, 09:42 AM
Per the Utah Royals and the USWNT, she was "not available for selection" to the USWNT because of her ankle, but they didn't provide additional details. She played in the SheBelieves Cup in February and March, but only played the first half in the first game, and was then subbed off in the 60th and 66th minutes, respectively, in the second and third games, but those were planned substitutions to gradually get her back to match fitness, as I understand it.
But given how thin the national team is at outside back, it seems safe to say that she aggravated the injury, or that recovery isn't proceeding as quickly as everyone would like. I agree with winflop that they likely just want to make sure she's ready to go for the World Cup and give her a little time off now for her to get back to 100%. (The roster is the same group of defenders they've been calling in, but instead of a younger player to replace Kelley on the roster, they called 34-year-old Ali Krieger back in for the first time in over a year, so this feels more like a "we know our roster, and we want a competent stopgap for right now to keep us on the right track rather than trying someone new" kind of thing.)
But given how thin the national team is at outside back, it seems safe to say that she aggravated the injury, or that recovery isn't proceeding as quickly as everyone would like. I agree with winflop that they likely just want to make sure she's ready to go for the World Cup and give her a little time off now for her to get back to 100%. (The roster is the same group of defenders they've been calling in, but instead of a younger player to replace Kelley on the roster, they called 34-year-old Ali Krieger back in for the first time in over a year, so this feels more like a "we know our roster, and we want a competent stopgap for right now to keep us on the right track rather than trying someone new" kind of thing.)