The Injured World Class Players Missing the Women’s World Cup
No one likes to admit it, but this World Cup looks much different than expected. So many injured women’s soccer players will miss the tournament. We are not exaggerating when we say that a new player gets injured at least once a week. Unfortunately, the list of injured players is getting much longer. Many national teams are affected and not just USWNT. Along with the national teams, many clubs must find a replacement for their injured players.
Players Missing the Women’s World Cup
With the number of injured players, many players are confirmed to miss the World Cup.
Canada’s Janine Beckie is one of the first players to miss the World Cup. During a preseason NWSL game in March, The 28-year-old forward tore her ACL; many injured players have the same diagnosis. “Having worked so hard during off-season for what was set to be one of the biggest seasons of my career, defending the title for @thornsfc and of course playing in the World Cup for Canada, being out for an extended period of time is a difficult pill to swallow,” Beckie wrote.
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Like Beckie, Arsenal and England’s 26-year-old defender, Leah Williamson, tore her ACL during a game against Manchester United. Williamson wrote, “unfortunately the World Cup and Champions League dream is over for me.”
The next player who will miss the World Cup is the USWNT’s Mallory Swanson. Swanson got injured during the USWNT’s game against Ireland. Her injury is a torn patellar tendon. Regarding recovery time, Swanson will need six to 12 months.
ACL injuries continue to haunt the women’s soccer world as Katie Rood joined “the ever-growing ACL club.” New Zealand’s 30-year-old forward has gotten injured while playing for her team, Heart of Midlothian WFC, in the Scottish Women’s Premier League.
Along with announcing her injury, Rood used the announcement to talk about the many injuries happening to female players. “It’s a reminder that health care and medical treatment isn’t often the norm in the women’s game, and we all know of players being left to fend for themselves after getting seriously injured with their clubs,” she wrote.
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Even More Injured Women’s Soccer Players
We hate to admit that the list goes on and on. One of the latest players to miss the World Cup is England’s Fran Kirby. Kirby has to undergo surgery because of an issue in her knee despite her attempts to avoid this procedure. “I’m absolutely gutted to announce that this means my season is over, and I will not be able to make the World Cup in the summer,” she wrote.
❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/EYvSu8wF4W
— Fran Kirby (@frankirby) May 2, 2023
The USWNT’s list of injured players is a long one as well. They will miss Sam Mewis after she underwent knee surgery to fully treat an old injury. Catarina Macario is just now returning after tearing her ACL.
Even teams are affected by these many injuries, and Arsenal is one of them. Arsenal and the Netherlands’ player, Vivianne Miedema, will also miss the World Cup after she tore her ACL. And the list goes on. Brazil’s Ludmila, Spain’s Alexia Putellas, France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto, and Denmark’s Nadia Nadim are just a few more world-class players out of the tournament.
When Will It Stop?
As you can see, many players will miss the World Cup due to injury. Of course, there are different kinds of injuries, but the most common one is ACL. ACL has become each female player’s worse nightmare.
All these injuries made it noticeable that women’s soccer still needs to do much research regarding such injuries. It’s clear that the current data is not enough.
So here is the question, when will women’s soccer have the same medical research as men’s soccer? The procedures taken by FIFA and teams to protect their male players are simply not applied to female players. It’s deeply saddening that even in treatment, there is inequality.
Featured image via Getty Images
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