French international midfielder Amandine Henry will return to her club Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League much earlier than expected. According to French news outlet France Bleu, Henry’s loan with French side Paris Saint Germain has ended. She will be with Portland for preseason and the start of the season on April 15.
The midfielder most recently clinched the title at the SheBelieves Cup with the French Women’s National Team. France took a last minute win over England to open the tournament, then earned a scoreless draw with Germany, and then finished off the tournament by stunning the U.S. Women’s National Team in a 3-0 victory for the trophy.
Henry was supposed to return with her national team back to France, but the Portland Thorns organization asked her to instead stay in the states and make her way to Portland so she can take part in preseason to prepare for the Thorns’ fifth season in the NWSL. Henry’s loan that binds her to PSG is currently under the process of being terminated.
Despite the sudden change, this isn’t all too surprising for Paris Saint Germain. Back when the loan was announced in January, the organization stated in its press release, “Amandine Henry is likely to join the US franchise early, subject to agreement between the two clubs.”
The international midfielder only spent two and a half months in Paris with her French club, having arrived and began training with her PSG teammates in late December of 2016. She played less than five games since returning to PSG for her loan.
Despite not returning to France to finish out her loan, PSG is not worried. They are hopeful that Henry, a high caliber player they truly respect, will possibly make a return to the club at the end of the NWSL season in October of 2017.