Wiegman must miss captain Williamson at World Cup due to cruciate ligament injury
NOS Soccer–
Soccer star Leah Williamson will have to miss next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The captain of coach Sarina Wiegman’s England national team has torn the anterior cruciate ligament of her knee and faces a long rehabilitation.
The 26-year-old Arsenal player suffered her injury Wednesday night in the league match against Manchester United. In the 12th minute of the match, she sprained herself and had to come off the pitch. After the match, she left the stadium on crutches.
“Leah is now beginning a period of rehabilitation and will be on the sidelines for an extended period of time. She will undergo surgery in due course,” her club announced.
Williamson is next in the long list of players dealing with a cruciate ligament injury. Players such as Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Alexei Putellas (FC Barcelona), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais) and Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain) all recently fell out with the same injury.
Earlier this year, we created an explainer on the many torn anterior cruciate ligaments in women’s soccer. Check it out below:
Sportexplainer: buckling knees in women’s soccer
