England midfielder Keira Walsh has been cleared of an anterior cruciate ligament tear, with scans confirming her injury suffered in the Lionesses’ 1-0 win over Denmark last night was not as bad as originally feared.
The 26-year-old hit the deck in the first half under no challenge and could be seen telling medical staff “I’ve done my knee”; the instant fear was Walsh had suffered an ACL tear – the injury that has kept both England captain Leah Williamson and Beth Mead sidelined for the tournament, as well as the Netherlands’ Vivianne Miedema, Christen Press of United States and Canada’s Janine Beckie, just to name a few.
Walsh is still no guarantee to take part in the remainder of the World Cup campaign – but evading the dreaded ACL tear will come as a major relief for the star Lioness.
A statement from the English Football Association read:
“We can confirm Keira Walsh has not suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. “The midfielder was substituted during Friday’s 1-0 win against Denmark.
“Walsh has been ruled out of Tuesday’s final Group D match against China PR in Adelaide and will remain at England’s Terrigal base to continue her recovery.
“Her knee injury will continue to be assessed by England medical staff and no further update will be provided at this stage.”
On Saturday night’s episode of KEEPUP’s daily World Cup podcast Dub At The Cup, Matildas forward Emily Gielnik expressed her delight at hearing the news of Walsh’s prognosis.
“Thank you to the football gods, we’ve saved another one!” She said.
Walsh’s England teammate Rachel Daly spoke for everyone after her injury last night by saying she had her “fingers, toes, everything crossed for Keira” as the Lionesses feared the worst for one of their most integral players.
“That’s football, isn’t it?” Daly said. “It’s tough, you have your highs and your lows and you just hope that everything is all right and she’ll be all right for the future. It’s a tough one but I hope she’s all right.”
