“I know how it feels to lose people along the way to injury,” wrote Leah Williamson for The Athletic during the 2022 men’s World Cup in December.
“Jordan Nobbs was ruled out of the summer’s Euros right at the end of Arsenal’s season (…) You want to give everything to your club but as soon as you come round to a major international competition, you have one eye on the tournament.”
It’s hard to read those words now knowing that the England captain will miss this summer’s women’s World Cup having torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). And she is not the only one — the injury list is growing day by day.
Last week Chelsea’s Fran Kirby confirmed she will miss the World Cup because of a knee injury. Arsenal’s Laura Wienroither will be absent for Austria having ruptured her ACL. Netherlands’ Vivianne Miedema and England’s Beth Mead suffered the same injury. Miedema ruled herself out of the World Cup; Beth Mead still has hope, though England manager Sarina Wiegman said she does not expect Mead to recover in time.
Further concerns were raised in the latest round of Women’s Super League (WSL) fixtures. On Sunday, Australia’s star Sam Kerr sparked fears when she went down just past the half-hour mark during Chelsea’s match against Everton. Manager…
