England captain Leah Williamson will miss the 2023 World Cup after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Williamson was forced off after just 11 minutes of Wednesday night’s Women’s Super League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village.
The 26-year-old went down after winning the ball in an innocuous challenge with Katie Zelem on the halfway line and immediately indicated that she was in pain.
She was subsequently taken off and was later pictured on crutches. The defender underwent further assessments on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury.
Williamson will undergo surgery and begin a period of rehabilitation.
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An Arsenal statement read: “Everyone at Arsenal will be supporting Leah closely throughout the journey ahead and we would ask that her privacy is respected at this time.”
“Until I have the words to express my feelings properly, I will struggle to verbalise them,” Williamson wrote on Instagram. “The noise around the situation is loud and I need some quiet to let it all sink in.
“Unfortunately the…
 injury. Williamson was forced off after just 11 minutes of Wednesday night’s Women’s Super League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village. The 26-year-old went down after winning the ball in an innocuous challenge with Katie Zelem on the halfway line and immediately indicated that she was in pain. She was subsequently taken off and was later pictured on crutches. The defender underwent further assessments on Thursday to determine the extent...){kind=link}