St. Louis star Daniela out with serious knee injury

There's bad news for St. Louis Athletica: Leading scorer Daniela is out indefinitely. The Brazilian star went down Sunday with a serious knee injury. Washington's Abby Wambach took out Daniela's left leg, which left her on the pitch. She was carried off the field.

Goal.com's Player of the Week made quite a stir in the match with two goals in the seventh and 41st minutes. Her attack didn't stop there, as she had six shots, including four on goal. And now it looks like her first season in Women's Professional Soccer could be over a bit prematurely.

Daniela returned to St. Louis Monday afternoon and was examined by Athletica team physician Robert Brophy. An MRI revealed Daniela has two injured knee ligaments and has a crack in her tibia.

"Daniela will be out indefinitely," said Brophy. "She does have a significant knee injury. Daniela has significant pain and swelling. She faces a lengthy recovery and extensive treatment before she returns to play."

Daniela was just beginning to win the hearts of the Athletica faithful and spearhead her team's attack. Now St. Louis will be missing one of its biggest stars and most promising talents.

"It is a great loss to the team who were getting accustomed to playing with Daniela," said head coach Jorge Barcellos. "We are going to have to restructure how our team is set up and our whole team will have to step up." --Goal.com