Brazil and San Diego Wave FC forward Dudinha said on Wednesday that initial scans indicate injuries to her right ACL and meniscus, and that she would be out for “a while.”
Dudinha announced the news on her Instagram page on Wednesday, one day after sustaining the knee injury in Brazil’s 1-0 loss to the United States. She was stretchered off the field in the 33rd minute of the match after a collision with U.S. defender Emily Sonnett.
Dudinha has been one of the top players in the 2026 NWSL season thus far. She scored five goals and added four assists for the Wave, who sit atop the NWSL table at the Men’s World Cup break.
Her nine combined goals and assists tie her for second in the NWSL around the halfway point of the season.
Read more:As FIFA entices a new generation of fans, a Brazil influencer’s platform will stream all 104 games
The Wave resume play again on July 4, when the NWSL returns from its month-long break.
Dudinha’s injury was sustained in a physical, chaotic match between Brazil and the United States on Tuesday.
Eight red cards were issued, four to Brazil’s staff and four to players, along with nine yellow cards. Twenty-eight total fouls were called, with 20 committed by Brazil. Brazil head coach Arthur Elias and his players took exception with the referee crew after the match.
“I think the match was influenced by the refereeing the whole time,” Elias said after the match. “It wasn’t just in the second half. What happened today is not normal.
What happened out there was, for me, the match in which I felt most disrespected in my life by a refereeing trio, especially by the assistant referee, who was right there beside me, and also by the referee.
“It wasn’t just me who was disrespected; the players too; the Brazilian national team was disrespected. I’d say that this didn’t have an impact on the result of the match.
“I think we need to make a clear distinction today. The U.S. team came here, played a great game, and have a manager who prepared the team to handle this atmosphere.”
