England captain Leah Williamson is set to miss this summer’s World Cup after Arsenal confirmed the 26-year-old has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Williamson left Leigh Sports Village on crutches earlier this week after she suffered an injury during her side’s WSL match against Manchester United. The Lionesses European Championship winning skipper had hoped she would avoid a lengthy lay-off but she is now set for a lengthy spell of rehabilitation, her club has confirmed.
Williamson is the third Arsenal player, along with Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema to have suffered a long-term knee injury this season. After the game, Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall suggested that the hectic schedule allied to the poor quality of most playing surfaces WSL players are asked to play on are both contributing factors. He said, “I think it’s going to continue here with the schedule we have and pitches like that, players are going to get injured. That is something that we all need to improve on, the facilities where we play, so we can keep the players on the pitch.”
The news of Williamson’s injury has come as a major blow to England’s World Cup hopes this summer. Everyone at Arsenal will be supporting Leah closely throughout the journey ahead and they have asked that her privacy is respected at this time. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.