Star Canadian striker Olivia Smith, injured in Friday's 1-0 win over Switzerland, has returned to her club team in England to receive treatment for a broken hip.
Canada Soccer said the 21-year-old from Whitby, Ont., will “focus on her recovery” at Arsenal in London.
Teenage striker Kayleigh Hunter has also left the national team. The 17-year-old football player from Calgary did not take part in the Swiss game in Lucerne due to an injury suffered before arriving at the national team.
Hunter returned to AFC Toronto to continue her rehabilitation.
The ninth-ranked Canadians hope to bounce back from their loss to 24th-ranked Switzerland when they face the 11th-ranked Netherlands on Tuesday in Nijmegen. They close out 2025 with a pair of games against No. 8 Japan during FIFA's November window.
Smith suffered the injury in her first appearance for Canada since joining Arsenal from Liverpool in July for a then-record transfer fee of one million pounds ($1.87 million).
Smith was injured in a heavy fall in the 32nd minute and was brought to the ground by Swiss defender Viola Calligaris as they battled for the ball. Smith spent about five minutes on the green receiving medical attention before being taken off the course in a golf cart.
A distraught Smith had no weight on her right leg as she was lifted to her feet and helped to the cart.
“From where I stood, it was definitely a foul,” Canada coach Casey Stoney said after the match. “And also from where I stood for 90 minutes, we didn't feel like we made too many decisions.”
Smith was physically assaulted by the Swiss from the start of the match.
Asked if opponents were targeting the five-foot-four Smith, Stoney said: “I sure hope not.”
In June, Smith left Canada's friendly against Haiti on a stretcher 13 minutes into the game in Montreal after taking a ball to the head.
“Obviously she got out of the Haiti game early, and now she's out of this game early,” Stoney said. “So we almost didn’t get to play her this year and she’s one of our most talented players, so it’s disappointing.”
Named Canada's top youth player in 2019 and 2024, Smith has three goals and three assists in 19 appearances for Team Canada.
Hunter's first call-up to the senior national team came after AFC Toronto refused to release her to the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup currently taking place in Morocco. While clubs must release players to the full national team during international windows, FIFA does not require them to do so in youth championships.
Hunter, who has scored 14 goals and provided three assists in the Northern Super League this season, has been a scoring sensation at youth level since making her international debut aged 15.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2025.
