The United States women's football team has suffered a major blow in their bid for gold at the Olympics after leading scorer Abby Wambach suffered a broken leg on Wednesday night.
Playing in the team's final friendly before heading to Beijing, Wambach was hurt in a collision with Brazil's Andreia Rosa in the 33rd minute of the Americans' 1-0 victory in San Diego.
X-rays confirmed Wambach suffered a mid-shaft oblique fracture of the tibia and fibula and will miss around 12 weeks. She will have surgery on Thursday to have a titanium rod inserted into her leg before beginning rehabilitation.
"I want to thank all the fans, the doctors, the players on the team and Tasha Kai for scoring the winning goal," Wambach said from the emergency room.
"Obviously, it's devastating, but above everything else, I'm only one player, and you can never win a championship with just one player. I have the utmost confidence in this team bringing home the gold."
Wambach has 99 international goals in 127 appearances.
