Alex Morgan expected to see more playing time at Women's World Cup
VANCOUVER—It looks like more playing time could be on the horizon for Alex Morgan.
The star forward, who has been nursing a bruised bone in her left knee for more than month, has seen a combined 23 minutes in the Americans' first two World Cup games. Morgan claims she's 100%, could start and play a full 90 minutes.
It remains to be seen when more minutes will come though. Monday, coach Jill Ellis hinted it would be soon.
"We kind of put together a plan in terms of loading her and that's important because we didn't want to suddenly go from not training to playing a lot," Ellis said. "So, yes, that's the plan. I think it's been good to get her in and my intention is to certainly get her more minutes for sure."
Morgan played the final 12 minutes against Sweden last Friday. She may have been limited, but her time on the field was meaningful. Just ask Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl. After the game she admitted the hardest save she had to make was one from the injured forward.
"The header from Abby (Wambach) was a good chance, but in the end, coming out to clear the box when Alex Morgan came to charge me," she said. "That one was quite hard to do."
The U.S. plays Nigeria in its final group play match Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET (FOX). A win puts the Americans atop Group D heading into the Round of 16.
PHOTOS: U.S. vs Sweden