On Monday, two days earlier than their Allianz Area showdown towards Bayern Munich within the Champions League, Arsenal introduced the devastating information that their centre-back, Katie Reid, had sustained an anterior cruciate ligament harm.
The 19-year-old, who was pulled ahead to raise the Champions League trophy in entrance of followers by the captain Leah Williamson at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium celebration in Could, had a meteoric rise at first to the season, partnering Steph Catley instead of the injured Williamson, beginning many video games forward of the World Cup winner Laia Codina and double European Championship winner Lotte Wubben-Moy.
“It's all the time horrible, particularly for her,” the supervisor, Renée Slegers, stated. “She began the season so nicely for us. Along with her age, how mature she has been, how she's been within the group and the way she has grown each single day, it is rather disappointing for her. It's very arduous. She's been with us within the final couple of days and surgical procedure is deliberate. She's going to transfer ahead from there. She stated she is going to use this time to develop as a footballer, which says all the things about Katie.”
Reid is the third Arsenal participant to be sidelined with the long-term knee harm this season. The goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger ruptured her ACL in coaching between Arsenal's opening Champions League fixtures towards Lyon and Benfica final month, and on 30 October it was introduced that the ahead Michelle Agyemang, who was on mortgage at Brighton, had sustained the brutal knee harm, having been taken off on a stretcher throughout England's 3-0 defeat of Australia in Derby.
The prevalence of ACL accidents in ladies's soccer shouldn't be new and is much from being an Arsenal downside. Liverpool equally have three out with ACL accidents, Marie Höbinger and Sophie Roman Haug each sustaining ACL accidents in October, becoming a member of the 18-year-old midfielder Zara Shaw who sustained the identical harm in April. Chelsea (Kadeisha Buchanan and Brooke Aspin), Everton (Megan Finnigan and Aurora Galli), Manchester Metropolis (Mary Fowler and Mayzee Davies) and Tottenham (Ella Morris and Maite Oroz) all have two out apiece. Brighton have misplaced Agyemang, who has returned to her guardian membership Arsenal for remedy and rehab, however are additionally with out Manuela Vanegas. Aston Villa's Jill Baijings joined the ACL membership on the finish of September.
It might be incorrect to sound recent alarm bells or speak of an epidemic of ACL accidents in ladies's soccer. The fact is that ladies's soccer has been blighted by ACL accidents for a very long time. Arsenal's opponents on Wednesday, Bayern Munich, are not any strangers to only how devastating the harm could be, with the Germany midfielder Lena Oberdorf sustaining her second ACL harm on 20 October, having made simply eight appearances following her return from her earlier ACL harm two months earlier than. Oberdorf's tear got here one month after fellow midfielder Sarah Zadrazil endured the identical destiny.
“The start line is about as a lot consciousness as attainable on how we will stop these accidents and I feel everybody agrees with that,” stated Slegers, who known as time on her personal taking part in profession following an ACL harm. “I do know the membership is outstanding in these processes on a wider scale.
“It's arduous as a result of it's one little second and also you're out for 9 to 12 months and it impacts a participant's profession. We have to carry on doing analysis as a result of the sport is rising and altering so quick and we have to transfer with that change.”
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The goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar stated: “Clearly the schedule will get busier, golf equipment and nations are asking increasingly of us, and there's most likely someplace a manner of decreasing the danger and I hope for everybody that we will discover that.”
The feedback of Slegers and Van Domselaar got here after the Chelsea midfielder Keira Walsh spoke on the difficulty following Reid's harm earlier than Chelsea's match towards St Polten. Walsh stated that these “larger up do have to take heed to what we're saying as gamers” on the difficulty of overloading and underloading, with many feeling match scheduling doesn't take a holistic sufficient method.
On Wednesday night time, Arsenal and Bayern will likely be weaker due to their absentees. For Arsenal, the lack of Reid and Zinsberger for the long run, added to their short-term losses, is placated by a squad depth meaning a powerful beginning XI can nonetheless be fielded. The issue, although, is that with the variety of video games mounting and fewer choices to rotate the danger of additional harm solely will increase.
