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St. Louis Athletica's Daniela Is Out Indefinitely
Saint Louis Athletica and Brazilian star Daniela suffered a knee injury which could keep her out for the remainder of the season.

There’s bad news for Saint Louis Athletica. Their leading scorer, Daniela, is out indefinitely. The Brazilian star went down Sunday with a knee injury. Washington Freedom’s Abby Wambach took out Daniela’s left leg, which left Daniela sprawled in pain on the pitch. She was carried off the field.

Goal.com’s Player of the Week made quite a stir in the match with two goals in the 7th and 41st minutes. Her attack didn’t stop there; she had six shots, including four on goal Sunday. All-in-all she had 15 shots, with five on goal in four games (318 minutes). And now it looks like her first season in Women’s Professional Soccer could be over a bit prematurely.

Daniela returned to Saint Louis Monday afternoon and was examined by Athletica Head Team Physician Dr. Robert Brophy. An MRI revealed Daniela has two injured knee ligaments and has a crack in her tibia.

“Daniela will be out indefinitely,” said Dr. Brophy. “She does have a significant knee injury. Daniela has significant pain and swelling. She faces a lengthy recovery and extensive treatment before she returns to play.”

Daniela was just beginning to win the hearts of the Athletica faithful and spearhead her team’s attack. Now Saint Louis and Athletica will be missing one of their biggest stars and most promising talents.

“It is a great loss to the team who were getting accustomed to playing with Daniela,” said Head Coach Jorge Barcellos. “We are going to have to restructure how our team is set up and our whole team will have to step up.”

Goal.com

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