April 24 – England captain Leah Williamson will miss the women’s World Cup this summer after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a Women’s Super League match against Manchester United.
Williamson, 26, went down in pain 12 minutes into Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to United last Wednesday and was helped off the pitch by medical staff before limping down the tunnel.
“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,” Arsenal said in a statement on Friday.
Williamson’s absence puts a further dent into England’s chances of World Cup glory, having already lost star striker Beth Mead. Chelsea and England centre-back Millie Bright, meanwhile, has been ruled out for several more weeks with the knee injury she suffered in March,
“Unfortunately the World 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,” Williamson wrote on Instagram.
Williamson was set to lead the Lionesses into this summer’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand having captained England to their historic Euro 2022 triumph and has established herself as an instrumental part of Sarina Wiegman’s team in the heart of defence.
“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,” she added.
“Ultimately, I think it’s just my time. In the past couple of years alone I have watched teammates beat serious illnesses and adversity with the biggest of smiles on their faces. I also had the perspective that globally there are much greater difficulties and therefore my circumstances right now are just that, circumstantial, and I’ve seen a lot worse.”
With Williamson absent, England will need to appoint a new captain for this summer’s tournament as Wiegman deals with what is threatening to descend into an injury crisis.
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