After worry that Keira Walsh’s Women’s World Cup was over due to a knee damage, the England midfielder has sparked hope she might play once more on the event after scans revealed she has not suffered ACL harm.
Walsh has been dominated out of England’s last group recreation in opposition to China. But there may be hope she’s going to be capable to get better for the knockout phases.
“Following a scan late on Saturday afternoon, we can confirm Keira Walsh has not suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury,” the English Football Association mentioned. “Her knee injury will continue to be assessed by England medical staff and no further update will be provided at this stage.”
Walsh’s knee damage within the Lionesses’ 1-0 win in opposition to Denmark on Friday left a gap within the coronary heart of the midfield.
Walsh — thought of the conductor throughout England’s European Championship triumph final yr — needed to depart the sphere in Sydney on a stretcher and later exited the stadium on crutches.
At the Euros, “everything came through Keira. There wasn’t a Plan B,” England’s all-time main scorer Ellen White mentioned in her function as an analyst for the BBC. “I dreaded to think of the idea of us ever losing her because she was one of our best players. Beth Mead was scoring all the goals but all of our play came through Keira.
“She was the key cog, everything moved through her.”
Walsh joined Barcelona from Manchester City after the Euros for a reported document price of 400,000 kilos ($513,000). Her departure from the sport in opposition to Denmark, with England main 1-0 and on high, was shortly felt and indicated simply how massive a loss she may very well be to educate Sarina Wiegman.
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Denmark grew into the sport, ended the stronger staff and missed out on a late equalizer when substitute Amalie Vangsgaard headed in opposition to the put up.
“I feel a little bit sorry for England that they lost Keira Walsh,” Denmark coach Lars Sondergaard mentioned. “We hope it is not as bad as it looked, but of course that could also be a reason why we came back into the game — that she was not there.”
Walsh will not be as spectacular as somebody like a Sam Kerr, who was dominated out of Australia’s opening two video games with a calf damage, however she is taken into account simply as very important to her staff’s ambitions.
Little shock, then, that Wiegman appeared so downbeat when questioned in regards to the damage.
“Of course I’m concerned. She couldn’t walk off the pitch,” she mentioned earlier than curtly responding to White’s declare that there was no backup plan in place on the Euros.
“You saw what we did. (Georgia) Stanway dropped back and Laura (Coombs) came in,” she mentioned.
Whether that may be a long-term repair is unsure, given how shut Denmark went to incomes a draw and England’s failure to construct on the promising begin it made when Lauren James opened the scoring after six minutes.
England’s World Cup preparations have been already disrupted by accidents to Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and Leah Wiliamson, however Walsh may very well be the largest lack of all.
She is the hyperlink between protection and assault and there’s no apparent alternative for her. She can direct England’s ahead strikes along with her imaginative and prescient and passing and in addition she operates as a protecting display screen for her defenders.
Without her, England did sufficient to seal its second slender win of the event and transfer to the brink of advancing to the knockout rounds.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com