England captain Leah Williamson is ruled OUT of this summer’s World Cup – as Arsenal confirm the Lionesses defender has ruptured her ACL in another injury blow to Sarina Wiegman’s European champions
- Lionesses defender Williamson will not play a part at this summer’s World Cup
- Williamson ruptured her ACL during Arsenal’s clash against Manchester United
- Arsenal have confirmed the England captain ‘will undergo surgery in due course’
England’s worst fears have been realised after it was confirmed Lionesses’ captain Leah Williamson will miss this summer’s World Cup with a serious knee injury.
Williamson was forced off in the 15th minute of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Manchester United on Wednesday and the club has now confirmed the defender ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament.
The 26-year-old appeared to get her foot caught in the turf before twisting her knee and immediately signalled she was in pain, before being helped off the pitch by the club’s medical staff.
The news is a significant blow for club and country and comes just before the Gunners’ Champions League semi-final with Wolfsburg.
‘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.
England captain and Arsenal star Leah Williamson will miss the World Cup with an ACL injury
Sarina Wiegman, who led the Lionesses to Euro 2022 glory, will now be without her captain
‘Unfortunately the World Cup and Champions League dream is over for me and everyone will think that’s the main focus, but it’s the day-to-day of what I’m about to go through that is the most draining of my thoughts.’
It is the third ACL injury Arsenal have experienced this season, with Williamson’s England team-mate Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema suffering the same fate at the end of last year.
Mead has previously called for research into why so many female footballers suffer serious knee injuries, with five of the top 16 players in October’s Ballon d’Or vote sidelined by the same problem.
‘I think if that happened with Messi, Ronaldo, Griezmann there’s probably going to be a lot more done,’ Mead said in December.
‘I see myself as quite a robust player but this has still happened. Viv’s also quite a robust player. We’ve not generally been hit with injuries, so I do think we need to look into it a lot more.
‘There doesn’t seem to be a lot of research going on. Unfortunately, this has happened to us but hopefully it can kick somebody up the a*** to go on and start doing something.
‘It’s something I would like to push forward — I have plenty of time to do so now.’
Mead herself tweeted a message of support to Williamson: ‘We are with you every step of the way @leahcwilliamson even if I have to be quiet some days in rehab,’ she said.
The Arsenal centre-back ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester United
She received medical attention from the Gunners’ staff during the Women’s Super League clash and subsequently underwent further assessment at Arsenal, who confirmed her ACL tear
‘We got you girl, all the love and strength in the world.’
A previous study found that female athletes are up to six times more likely to suffer ACL injuries than men. One reason given is that changing hormones across the menstrual cycle can affect the physiology and biomechanics of the body and create looser joints.
However, the FA conducted their own study into the prevalence of ACL injuries in women’s football over the last four seasons and found they accounted for just 1.3 per cent of all injuries.
Williamson is now the 11th player in the Women’s Super League to suffer an ACL injury.
A statement from Arsenal read: ‘We can confirm that Leah Williamson suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in our Barclays Women’s Super League match against Manchester United on Wednesday night.
‘Leah was substituted in the first half of the game at Leigh Sports Village and underwent further assessment on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury.
Beth Mead has called for more research into ACL injuries in women’s football – with five of the top 16 players in October’s Ballon d’Or vote – including her – sidelined with serious knee issues
‘Leah will now begin a period of rehabilitation and is set for an extended spell on the sidelines. She will undergo surgery in due course.
‘Everyone at Arsenal will be supporting Leah closely throughout the journey ahead and we would ask that her privacy is respected at this time.’
Williamson posted to Instagram on Friday: ‘Until I have the words to express my feelings properly, I will struggle to verbalise them. The noise around the situation is loud and I need some quiet to let it all sink in.
‘Unfortunately the World Cup and Champions League dream is over for me and everyone will think that’s the main focus, but it’s the day-to-day of what I’m about to go through, that is the most draining of my thoughts.’
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