Lucy Bronze injured her knee against Chelsea, but was seen walking at full-time; England captain Leah Williamson was ruled out of the World Cup with an ACL injury on Friday, while Beth Mead ruptured her ACL in November and is highly unlikely to recover in time for the tournament
Saturday 22 April 2023 17:22, UK
Barcelona manager Jonatan Giraldez says Lucy Bronze is "feeling much better" after hobbling off with a knee injury against Chelsea, giving England another injury scare.
The defender went down in the 65th minute clutching her knee, receiving medical attention in the pitch. Concerns were heightened when, as she went to walk off, her knee gave away.
She stumbled a few steps and appeared to be close to tears as she hopped down the tunnel. However, she later reappeared on the bench with her knee strapped with ice, before walking around the pitch at full-time with her Barcelona team-mates, albeit with a limp.
In his post-match press conference, Giraldez confirmed Bronze is OK, despite appearing to be a bad injury at the time.
"Initially Lucy was a bit worried about her injury, she felt her pain in her knee, but now she's feeling much better about it", he said.
"She felt pain in the knee but I think she's fine right now. I was talking to her immediately after the game. It was scary at first but right now I think she's fine."
The scare comes after England captain Leah Williamson was ruled out of the World Cup on Friday after rupturing her ACL in Wednesday's WSL defeat to Manchester United.
Beth Mead is also expected to miss the tournament after injuring her ACL in November - also against Man Utd - while Millie Bright remains out for a number of weeks.
She has also picked up a knee injury, although not an ACL, and her fitness for the World Cup also remains a doubt.
Williamson confirmed her "World Cup dream is over" after she ruptured ACL. Arsenal have not put a timeframe on Williamson's recovery but ACL injuries typically rule players out for at least six months, and Williamson will be unable to lead the Lionesses at the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which runs from July 20 to August 20.
Head coach Sarina Wiegman names her squad in late May and England's opening game is against Haiti on Saturday, July 22 in Brisbane.
Williamson released a statement on social media saying: "Until I have the words to express my feelings properly, I will struggle to verbalise them. The noise around the situation is quite 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."
Female footballers are up to six times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than their male counterparts, and Inside the WSL sat down with players, physios and doctors to try and find out why.
Unfortunately, it's not an uncommon sight to see a women's club announce a player will be sidelined with a ruptured ACL.
The issue also came to the fore during the summer's European Championships. Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas missed the tournament after rupturing her ACL just days before Spain's opening game. Simone Magill also picked up the same injury in Northern Ireland's opening game of the tournament against Norway, just days after signing for Aston Villa.
France striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto also limped off in their second group game against Belgium, having also ruptured her ACL. She had been one of the favourites to win the Euro 2022 Golden Boot.
You could keep reeling off the names of female players who have gone through the long process of ACL rehabilitation, but as yet, very little scientific research has been done into why women are more likely to suffer from the injury than men.
