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NOS Football••Amended
In an innocent duel for the ball, Vivianne Miedema seems to have sustained a serious knee injury. Not a reassuring picture, seven months before the Women’s World Cup kicks off.
On the stroke of half-time in the Champions League match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais, the Orange striker fell to the ground and she was in tears, with her left leg splinted, carried off the field on a stretcher.
Miedema’s partner and Arsenal colleague, Beth Mead, followed her into the players’ tunnel on crutches – she tore an anterior cruciate ligament at the end of November.
The seriousness of the knee injury is still unclear, but Lyon midfielder and Orange international Daniëlle van de Donk was certainly not positive during a quick press talk at half-time. “I feel sad for her, you don’t wish this on anyone. It doesn’t look good. My thoughts are with her.”
For a serious knee injury such as a torn cruciate ligament, recovery takes six to nine months. The Women’s World Cup will start in seven months, on July 20, 2023.
Beerensteyn is also out
Bad news also came from the other Champions League match in group C between Juventus and FC Zurich (5-0). Lineth Beerensteyn was out there with an ankle injury. Caretakers carried the wing attacker of the Dutch national team to the dressing room. The nature of the injury is still unclear.
National coach Andries Jonker will have looked anxiously at the moments of Miedema and Beerensteyn. Jonker said at the beginning of November that he thinks the busy schedule is “too much of a good thing” and sees it leading to overload and injuries. For that reason, the national coach has not called up some of his best players several times.
Andries Jonker: ‘We need a less busy schedule’
Miedema expressed her concerns in her column in AD at the end of November about the busy schedule, after a few teammates were injured at Arsenal. “It’s all no coincidence,” Miedema wrote about the heavy schedule and the injuries. “Of course, injuries are sometimes unstoppable, but I see a worrying pattern.”
Arsenal to quarter-finals
When Miedema dropped out, Arsenal had just fallen 1-0 behind against Lyon, where Van de Donk and Damaris Egurrola started in the base. And it remained 1-0. Despite the defeat, Arsenal have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Next week Lyon and Juventus will fight in a direct duel for the other ticket for the knockout phase. Juventus approached two points with a 5-0 win over FC Zurich Lyon on Thursday.
Beerensteyn played a leading role in that match, which started 45 minutes later due to snowfall. The Orange wing attacker scored the second goal, caused a red card and two penalties, gave an assist and was therefore injured.
