Top US striker out of Olympics after breaking her leg

(BEIJING, July 18) -- US striker Abby Wambach will not participate in Beijing 2008 after being injured in an Olympic warm-up against Brazil on Wednesday evening. Surgery was performed on her broken left leg on Thursday and she will need three months to recover.

Thirty-one minutes into the game, Wambach collided ferociously with the Brazilian defender Andreia Rosa and fell to the ground. She was sent to hospital immediately and X-rays found a mid-shaft oblique fracture of the tibia and fibula, the two bones that make up the lower leg.

Wambach is the United States' leading scorer this year, with 13 goals and 10 assists, and she is also one of the top scorers in US history with 99 goals in 127 games.

The US women's national team will have to defend their Athens 2004 gold medal without Wambach. On the injury list are also Leslie Osborne and Cat Whitehill, who are recovering from knee ligament injuries.

The US team will begin its Olympic campaign against group G rival Norway on August 6.