Vivianne Miedema confirmed she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament days after being stretchered off during Arsenal’s loss to Lyon in the Champions League.
The Gunners forward, 26, will undergo an operation on her injury in the coming days and has been ruled out for ‘an extended period’.
Arsenal say a more detailed timescale will be established after surgery on the Netherlands ace has been carried out.
Last Thursday the WSL’s all-time record scorer looked visibly distressed after sustaining the injury which occurred after she was stretching for the ball and appeared to land awkwardly.
The Gunners ace said there will be ‘plenty of difficult days ahead’ and thanked friends, family and her team-mates for their support.
In a statement shared via her Twitter account this morning Miedema said: “Absolutely gutted to share that I’ve ruptured my ACL in our last game against Lyon.
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“It was one of those moments, where I knew straight away.
“So many things going through your head: I won’t be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long, long time.
“I won’t be telling you I’ll come back stronger or that I’m looking forward to spending the next however many months in the gym.
“It will be tough with plenty of difficult days (plenty of crying, which we’ve had a lot of already), but sadly enough it’s part of football.
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“I’m lucky enough to have amazing team-mates, friends and family around me and Beth, who can guide me through everything that’s coming while only being a couple of weeks ahead of me.
“Thank you for all your messages, I do really appreciate them and they are helping a lot!
“For now, I’ll be getting myself ready for surgery and it’s time for a much-needed Christmas break.”
Miedema’s injury comes a month after her team-mate and partner Beth Mead ruptured her knee ligament during the late stages of Arsenal’s 3-2 loss to Manchester United at the Emirates.
The England star, 27, who signed a new contract with the club this month, was also revealed to have sustained an ACL injury.
The loss of Miedema and Mead is a blow for Arsenal who are in the race for the WSL title and currently second and three points behind leaders Chelsea.
Both players are among the most formidable forwards in the women’s top-flight and notched up a combined total of 25 goals in the league last season.
And Miedema finished as the top tier’s second highest goal scorer last term.
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Their club are due to play Zurich on Wednesday in their final Champions League group stage game.
The Gunners have already qualified for the contest’s quarter-final stage having notched up three wins, one draw and one defeat.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
