Injuries in football are an unfortunate common occurrence. However, if you have been keeping an eye on women’s football over the past few years the words ‘out with an ACL injury’ are something you will have heard said more often than not.
Research suggests that women are four to six times more likely to suffer from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury than men. This is through both how the female body is made and the lack of research put into the subject.
To put that into perspective, over 20 players missed the most recent Womens World Cup due to experiencing some kind of ACL issue.
Many names spring to mind when it comes to those who have faced an ACL injury, Leah Williamson, Sam Kerr and Beth Mead to name a few. However, it’s not just the top stars of the sport that deal with this problem, the rise in ACL injuries tumbles all the way through the football pyramid.
I spoke to Chesterfield Women forward Sophie Marshall about her experience with the injury and what more can be done to try and get a grip on the ongoing problem.
Marshall, who ruptured her ACL in her final year of secondary school, described the time away from the pitch as ‘mentally quite tough.’
“You don’t actually realise how mentally tough it is until you have one (the injury). Sitting there on the sidelines is tough, when you get to the end of the season and realise you haven’t played a game.”
The future of the women’s game is exciting and is charting into new territory. However, the game can only stay exciting if the right care is put into it and the players are looked after. The lack of research into why these injuries are so common goes hand in hand with the way players are treated. Alongside the research needed, the right medical care is also essential to ensure that the injury can heal and that there are no further complications.
Marshall was turned away multiple times when going to medical professionals about her injury and says she ‘demanded’ an MRI scan. A scan that can determine if the muscle is torn and if there are any other issues around the knee.
“I was sent home and told because you can put your foot on the ground and walk, you’re fine. A couple of weeks later it was like okay I can’t even straighten my leg, so something needs to be done.”
The 18-year-old who was described by one of her coaches, Mike Noon, as ‘professional and passionate for the game’, had to fight to get her injury taken seriously saying she had to go back ‘3 or 4 times’ to eventually get the scan.
“It 100% needs to be taken a lot more seriously,” Marshall said.
“I went back, and they gave me a splint which infact made it worse because of the surgery I had to have.”
The striker later had the surgery on her knee and after an 18-month rehab is back to playing for Chesterfield Women and training with Derby County Women as part of the University of Derby’s FDA course.
She described the lasting effects of the injury. “I get inflammation in my knee from surgery and when I’m running, I sometimes feel it,” she said.
Many football fans, players and pundits have spoken out about how there needs to be more done to prevent the likelihood of the injury happening and better care for those going through recovery.
Marshall spoke about the potential impact the lack of research could have on people.
“There needs to be more done as there might be people who are not as pushy as we are who could be out there who are in pain,” she urged, “but carry on because they’re thinking they said I was fine so I’m fine.”
With players speaking out and medical experts giving their thoughts, it is only a matter of time until something must and will be done to try and calm this, as described by many, ‘epidemic’. Injuries in a contact sport like football are never going to disappear; however the fight is there for the right treatment to prevent the likelihood of season or potential career-ending injuries from happening and as we have seen many a time before in women’s football, they won’t give up easily.
