How can ACLs and other serious injuries in women’s football be prevented?

W henever I see a player go down with a serious injury in the women’s game it is painful to watch because you know the road to recovery is a long one. It has a heavy impact on a career, forcing an individual to miss months of action and potentially life-changing moments.

Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas, Lyon’s Ellie Carpenter and Arsenal’s Leah Williamson are three of the many players at the top of the European club game to have sustained an ACL injury over the past year. Putellas was forced out of the Euros as a result and Williamson will miss the World Cup in July and August because of the timeframe to recover from one of the most serious injuries in the professional game.

It raises the question of what needs to be done to potentially prevent others enduring the heartbreak of such injuries. From workload to making sure equipment is the best and most suitable it can be, there is plenty to look into.

Men also sustain ACL damage and it is high profile when they do, but the issue seems to be more prevalent in the women’s game. More investigation and study of female footballers is needed to find out why they get injured – not just ACLs but all physical matters.

It is a hot topic at the moment, and rightly so. I have had a lot of conversations with people who all have different thoughts, and we need to look more into it. People have mentioned reviewing the development of children in the academy system. Young boys start their training a lot earlier than girls, and they have better medical care, more expertise and knowledge that makes the transition to the professional game easier. At academy level, do we have the knowledge of how to look after a young female athlete? I was trained as a male athlete but I am a female and my body