NEW YORK — Mallory Swanson isn’t supposed to be here, and as recently as a few weeks ago, she thought she wouldn’t be. Immediately after she tore her left patellar tendon in an April friendly against Ireland, she told herself she would find a way to defy expectations. Recovery from an injury like hers generally takes about six months. The Women’s World Cup started in three.
“I was like, I'm gonna be there,” she says. “Like, I might not be 90 minutes fit, but I'm gonna be there.”
It took until late June for her to hear what her body had been telling her: No.
