ACL injuries in women's football: Current casualties, former stars who have suffered injuries and everything else you need to know

By
published

ACL injuries are prevalent in the women's game with female footballers two-six times more likely to sustain the issue than male players, according to research

Sophie Ingle of Chelsea in action during a pre-season friendly match between Chelsea FC Women and Feyenoord Women at Kingsmeadow on September 07, 2024 in Kingston upon Thames, England.
Sophie Ingle, who is one of the players with ACL injuries, is in her second spell at Chelsea and re-joined the club in 2018 (Image credit: Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

ACL injuries in women's football is an ever-growing problem with several players currently on the sidelines with the issue.

A three-year ACL study in England's Women's Super League was launched in April with other studies also in progress to determine why the injury is more prevalent in the women's game.

Research already carried out on ACL's suggests women's footballers are two-six times more likely to sustain the injury than male footballers.

ACL injuries: Which high profile stars have recovered from the issue?

Beth Mead of Arsenal celebrates scoring her team's second goal during the Barclays Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on September 22, 2024 in London, England.

Beth Mead was England's top-scorer during the 2022 Euros, which the Lionesses won (Image credit: Richard Pelham - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Multiple player's missed the 2023 World Cup because of the injury, including England's Beth Mead and Leah Williamson. Mead and Williamson, who both play for Arsenal, have both returned to the pitch since then.

Vivianne Miedema, who played for Arsenal at the time, sustained the injury in December 2022 during a Women's Champions League match. She made it back to the pitch before leaving the Gunners for Manchester City this summer.

Jill Roord of Man City during the Barclays Women's Super League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Joie Stadium on October 6, 2024 in Manchester, England.

(Image credit: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Most recently, Manchester City's Jill Roord came back for her club after rupturing her ACL back in January.

Other players to have suffered with the injury include Alexia Putellas, Giulia Gwinn, Caroline Weir, Janine Beckie and Marie-Antoinette Katoto.

Dr Stacey Emmonds, an expert in Sports Performance at Leeds Beckett University, says that these high numbers should decline as the women's game develops – but that risk factors which may be inherent to women can still be influenced.

“We know there is research looking at neuromuscular programmes,” Emmonds said “[This is] not being explored in female athletes. There's a need for broad research and we feel one of the biggest things is the environmental factors in the women's game.”

VIDEO Why Lauren James Will Change Women's Football Forever

Current ACL injury list in the WSL

There are currently 18 players recovering from an ACL injury in England's top-flight. In FourFourTwo's view, individual clubs should carry out research to see if they can identify any patterns around their players sustaining the injuries.

  • Aurora Galli (Italy/Everton)
  • Inma Gabarro (Spain/Everton)
  • Kenzie Weir (Scotland/Everton)
  • Sofie Lundgaard (Denmark/Liverpool)*
  • Faye Kirby (England/Liverpool)*
  • Sophie Ingle (Wales/Chelsea)
  • Mia Fishel (USA/Chelsea)
  • Sam Kerr (Australia/Chelsea)
  • Jorja Fox (England/Chelsea)*
  • Aniek Nouwen (Netherlands/Chelsea)
  • Elise Hughes (Wales/Crystal Palace)
  • Victoria Pelova (Netherlands/Arsenal)
  • Sandy MacIver (Scotland/Manchester City)
  • Risa Shimizu (Japan/Manchester City)
  • Evie Rabjohn (England/Manchester United)*
  • Kit Graham (England/Tottenham)*
  • Jessica Ziu (Republic of Ireland/West Ham)
  • Hannah Cain (Wales/Leicester City)

*Uncapped for senior international team

Selected names across European leagues with ACL injuries

Lena Oberdorf of FC Bayern München Women's poses during the team presentation for the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga season 2024/2025 on July 4, 2024 in Munich, Germany.

Lena Oberdorf moved to Bayern Munich from Wolfsburg in the summer (Image credit: Jasmin Walter/Getty Images for DFB)
  • Lena Oberdorf (Germany/Bayern Munich)
  • Senja Salo (Finland/Åland United)
  • Bibiane Schulze Solano (Germany/Atletic Bilbao)
  • Anaïs Ebayilin (France/PSG)*
  • Marina Rivas (Spain/Madrid CFF)*
Sarah Rendell
Sarah Rendell
Women's football editor

Sarah joined the FourFourTwo team in September 2024 in a freelance role. She also writes for The Guardian, BBC and Rugby World where she specialises in women's football and rugby. Sarah has a bachelors degree in English and a master's in newspaper journalism.