Orlando Pride Defender Ali Krieger Out Four to Six Weeks with MCL Injury

The Orlando Pride have announced that defender Ali Krieger will be out for four to six weeks after suffering an MCL injury to her right knee during the team’s 5-2 win against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday.

The injury occurred in the 66th minute of the Pride’s win at Toyota Park. As Arin Gilliland received the ball on the left, Krieger tracked her to the end line, blocking a cross attempt from close range that resulted in a Red Stars corner kick. The NWSL veteran and former U.S. international got up slowly before going back down to a knee and was treated by a team trainer. She was replaced by Carson Pickett in the 70th minute.

The final 19 minutes of the game were the Pride’s first without Krieger since the start of the 2017 season, as she saw her league-best active minutes played streak come to an end at 3,227 consecutive minutes.

Team doctors from Orlando Health evaluated the defender on Tuesday, finding it to be an injury to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her right knee. While the club didn’t announce the extent of the injury, they stated the recovery time would be four to six weeks, the usual recovery time for a strained, sprained, or torn MCL.

The 33-year-old Krieger joined the Pride prior to the 2017 season from the Washington Spirit, where she served as club captain and had been since the launch of the NWSL in 2013. She played every minute of the Pride’s 2017 campaign, logging 24 regular-season games and 2,160 minutes, as well as all 90 minutes of the team’s 4-1 loss to the Portland Thorns in the playoffs.

She had played every minute of the Pride’s 2018 season until the injury forced her out of the game. In total, Krieger has played in 35 games for the Pride, recording 3,130 minutes and three assists. She recorded the third of those Saturday with her service on Sydney Leroux’s first goal with the Pride and was part of the buildup for Leroux’s second goal as well. Additionally, she captained the team for 12 games in 2017 when club captain Ashlyn Harris was out due to injury.