Women's World Cup winner Rose Lavelle is close to making her return from an ankle injury, which could see her offer a well-timed boost for both her NWSL club NJ/NY Gotham FC and the U.S. women's national team.

Lavelle has not played since the USWNT's 2-1 win at the Netherlands in December, undergoing surgery for an ankle injury shortly after, and has spent the last six months working her way back to the pitch. Her long wait may finally be over on Saturday, when she could play her first game of the year when Gotham host the Kansas City Current (1 p.m. ET, CBS ). Head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday that "if all goes well" in the final hours before the match, Lavelle could play "in some sort of capacity" during the match.

The midfielder would

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