ATHENS, Aug. 24 -- Get out of the way: Julie Foudy is on the loose and on crutches.
"I'm crutching-impaired," said the captain of the U.S. women's soccer team, sitting on a couch with her right ankle wrapped and standard-issue crutches parked by her side. "I almost took Lill's knee out when I was handing her my drink. I almost took out Tarp's face coming down the stairs."
Kristine Lilly, Lindsay Tarpley and the rest of the team are quickly learning that their leader is not a very good patient. They need her to be a quick healer, not only for their own safety, but to lead them in the gold medal game against Brazil on Thursday.
Foudy was injured in the second half of Monday's 2-1 overtime semifinal victory over Germany. She was tackled just after clearing the ball and left the game a few minutes later with a suspected sprain, a rare setback in the career of the durable 16-year national team veteran.
X-rays taken late Tuesday were negative, and Foudy had a sprain diagnosed. Foudy is expected to be a game-time decision for the final, but she has dual motivation to recover in a hurry. Not only is it the gold medal game of the Olympics, it also could be the last game in her career. Foudy is retiring at the end of the year, and she will play again only if there are some celebratory exhibition games scheduled for this fall.
"My gut says I'm a great healer and I have good genes and strong bones," she said. "That's why I've never been injured. I once had a doctor tell me, 'My, you have dense bones.' "
More seriously, she said she would play unless she felt she would hurt the team.
"I don't want to be hobbling around out there," Foudy said. "I just want to contribute. If I can do that, I'll definitely be on the field."
Aly Wagner, who entered the game when Foudy was hurt, would be the favorite to move back into the starting lineup if Foudy can't play. Wagner has had an inconsistent Olympics and lost a starting spot to Tarpley after the first round.
Though Foudy is undoubtedly the most vivacious player on the U.S. team -- her nickname isn't "Rowdy Foudy" for nothing -- her injury had her quick wit working double-time. Asked by a television crew to describe her injury, she said, "I was in a bar fight, and I had nine people coming at me."
A past president of the Women's Sports Foundation and a member of a government committee that analyzed Title IX, Foudy remains active in political and social issues. She has been mentioned as a possible congressional candidate, but she says her tendency to say exactly what's on her mind probably precludes her from the campaign game.
Her immediate plans? Right now, she has none.
"I'm not going to stress about it," Foudy said.
"I'm going to focus on this last run in soccer and worry about the details later. It'll be nice just to take my name tag off and say hello to my husband for a bit."
K. Smith Has Torn Cartilage
Katie Smith, expected to be a key player for the U.S. basketball team, will miss the rest of the Olympics because of torn cartilage in her right knee.
Smith injured the knee Sunday night in the team's final preliminary game, a 100-62 victory over China. She had bruised that same knee in a WNBA game in late July, causing her to miss the first game in Athens.
The tear showed up in an MRI exam late Monday. Team physician Sheldon Burns confirmed the diagnosis Tuesday.
"Katie Smith is out for the medal round," Coach Van Chancellor said. "She will not play."
The United States, seeking its third straight Olympic gold medal, will play Greece in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Chancellor said Diana Taurasi will pick up the minutes that Smith would have played. The former Connecticut star and WNBA rookie is coming off a 19-point performance against China, her best game of the Olympics by far.
"The way she practiced today, she's ready," Chancellor said. "She had a great game the other night. She's rolling right now."
