Canadian women’s soccer star Jordyn Huitema of Chilliwack, British Columbia will be out for the foreseeable future with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament according to the Canadian Press on Tuesday. Huitema suffered the injury on Saturday while playing for the Chicago Stars FC in National Women’s Soccer League action. Chicago ended up losing 2-0 to Angel City FC.
Now there is deep concern that Huitema might miss the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The event is taking place from June 24 to July 25 in Brazil. The estimated recovery time of a torn anterior cruciate ligament can be anywhere from six months to a year.
However, before Canada participates in the 2027 Women’s World Cup, they still have to qualify. Canada will be facing Panama on November 28 in Dallas, Texas in a one-game qualification matchup.
Australia is one of 14 nations that have already qualified for the Women’s World Cup. They are joined by Brazil, China, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, North Korea, New Zealand, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Spain and France. Australia qualified by defeating North Korea 2-1 in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation quarterfinals in Perth on March 13. The Australian goal scorers were Alanna Kennedy and Samantha Kerr.
Huitema is one of Canada’s top forwards. She has 24 goals in 98 games internationally for Canada, and was part of the Canadian team that won the gold medal in women’s soccer at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Huitema has also been involved in two high profile relationships. The first was with Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies, who is currently with Bayern Munich. Huitema is currently dating Seattle Mariners star outfielder Julio Rodriguez.