Keira Walsh’s World Cup hangs in the balance after a scan revealed she did not, after all, suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Lionesses’ 1-0 victory against Denmark on Friday.
The midfielder will miss the Lionesses’ final group-stage match with China on Tuesday but will remain in Australia to undergo further medical assessments.
Walsh went down in the 35th minute of England’s second Group D game, her studs seemingly getting stuck in the turf after she overstretched with her right leg and twisting the joint as she landed. The 26-year-old left the pitch on a stretcher in tears after appearing to say “I’ve done my knee” to medical staff as they approached her.
England were already without their Euro 2022 captain, Leah Williamson, and golden boot winner, Beth Mead, because of ACL injuries – Fran Kirby was also unavailable because of a different knee injury. The fear was that Walsh had suffered a similar fate and would face several months out.
Walsh is vital to England’s play and will be a huge loss to Sarina Wiegman’s side, however many games she misses. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall called Walsh “almost irreplaceable” and highlighted just how critical the defensive midfielder is.
“You could see that in the way Denmark started pressing after she went off injured,” he said. “They were so concerned about screening the passing options to Keira, that Millie Bright or Alex Greenwood got a lot of time on the ball because they were pressing with one 9 against two central defenders.
“The moment Walsh went [off], Denmark said ‘We won’t worry so much about their midfield now, our 10 can engage and press the central defenders’. They basically marked player for player, which put a lot more pressure and stress on England.”
Concerns among top players over a lack of research into serious knee injuries is very real. The England goalkeeper Mary Earps called it the “talk of the town” that more research is needed.
Rachel Daly, who provided the assist for Lauren James’s early goal against Denmark, said: “Those three letters scare the absolute you-know-what out of me … there’s always more work to be done, in and around injuries and ACLs.”
Earps and Daly have backed the squad to stick together in the face of adversity. “We are a resilient group. We’re going to keep going and fighting and put our best foot forward as we always do,” said Earps.
Daly said: “This group is special, it’s got some unbelievable characters, it’s not just about what you see in performances on the pitch, the girls off the pitch are just special, special people, the staff as well.
“Sarina’s built a squad around that. She doesn’t just think of the team play, it’s everyone as a whole, character on and off the pitch,” the Aston Villa player added.
“Coombsy [Laura Coombs] stepped in tonight and did phenomenally, there’s other players that are ready to go and are available. But we have to rally around each other now, especially for Keira’s sake.”
