Brazilian striker Bia Zaneratto ruled out of Paris due to injury

Brazilian striker Bia Zaneratto ruled out of Paris due to injury. GETTY IMAGES

Brazilian footballer Bia Zaneratto will miss the Olympics due to a foot fracture, she revealed on Instagram on Sunday.

Brazilian striker Bia Zaneratto will miss Paris 2024 due to a foot fracture, she announced on Instagram on Sunday. The stress fracture will prevent her from competing in the Olympic competition, which begins this month in France.

“Bia” left last Friday’s match against Kansas City Current at half-time with a foot injury that has affected her entire NWSL season, causing her to miss four of the team’s 15 games.

“I have been dealing with the pain of plantar fasciitis for a few months now,” she wrote in her Instagram post. “Those who have had it know how painful it is, and especially for us athletes who have to race against time to get well as soon as possible so we can do our job,” the footballer explained.

“I have always considered myself to be very strong, a person who can really endure pain. I pushed myself during those months to be able to play and have the chance to play in another Olympic Games,” said the footballer, who was born in Araraquara, Brazil, on 17 December 1993.

“But in the last game, I suffered a stress fracture in my fourth metatarsal, which means I will not be able to live the Olympic dream,” said Zaneratto, who has scored five goals and added four assists for Kansas City Current in the NWSL despite the injury.

Brazil loses a great player with this injury. The forward has made over 100 appearances for the Brazilian national teamsince 2011, when she made her senior debut. She started playing for Brazil at the age of 14 at the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

With a total of 103 appearances and 36 goals for the ‘Verdeamarela’, the forward will miss her third Olympic Games (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020). She has also taken part in four FIFA World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019, 2023).

Following the player’s confirmation of the serious injury, a Kansas City Current spokesperson said the team was awaiting full medical reports to assess Bia’s return to the field.

“I don’t need to tell you how much it hurts my heart to go through this, but I know I did the best I could,” Bia wrote. “I did everything I could. I accept that it was meant to be; there are things that, no matter how much we want them, are not meant to be”.



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