The England captain, Leah Williamson, was substituted early in Arsenal’s Women’s Super League defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday night.
In scenes that will worry England and Arsenal fans alike, Williamson collapsed in pain in the 12th minute of the game, after appearing to catch her studs in the turf and hurt her knee.
The centre-back, playing in midfield against United due to an ongoing injury crisis at the club, immediately signalled to the bench for treatment and while a stretcher was not required, a clearly limping Williamson had to be helped down the tunnel.
“I don’t have that information,” said Jonas Eidevall when asked about the extent of Williamson’s injury after the match, which United won 1-0 thanks to Alessia Russo’s goal just before half-time. “I have other people connected to the medical information on that at the moment. I haven’t seen her yet.”
“I think it’s going to continue here with the schedule we have and pitches like that, players are going to get injured,” the Arsenal manager continued. “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 Manchester United manager, Marc Skinner, said of the injury: “Nobody wanted to see that. I’ve just seen her inside, she seemed in really high spirits. We obviously wish it’s something minor and just a precaution. We wish her all the best. We all want to see her lead the Lionesses in the summer.”
Neither the player nor the club have provided any update on the injury, although Arsenal tweeted: “We’re all thinking of you, @leahcwilliamson.” Even a short-term absence would be a major concern for Jonas Eidevall’s side, who are chasing WSL and Women’s Champions League honours with an injury list that includes Kim Little and Vivianne Miedema.
Like Miedema, Beth Mead is currently out long-term with an anterior cruciate ligament injury and appears unlikely to be fit for this summer’s Women’s World Cup. The immediate fear among England supporters is that a similar type of injury would rule Williamson out of the tournament, which begins in under 100 days.
Wednesday’s loss leaves Eidevall’s side six points behind United, with a game in hand, and two points behind second-placed Chelsea having played a game more. The Gunners travel to Germany for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg on Sunday.
