Arsenal vice-captain Leah Williamson is expected to return to action before Christmas after a knee injury that has ruled her out of the start of 2025-26 season, head coach Renee Slegers has said.
Williamson, 28, picked up the injury — to the same knee in which she previously injured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — during England’s winning European Championship campaign this summer. The centre-back had reported back to Arsenal for pre-season with swelling to the knee, unrelated to the ACL injury, and underwent a surgical procedure to clean it, which was successful.
“Everything is going forward as expected,” Slegers said when asked about Williamson in her pre-match press conference on Monday. “We expect her to be and hope to have her back before the winter break (which starts on December 22).
“We expect somewhere in November, December that she might be back in full training. It’s a day-to-day, week-to-week thing.”
Williamson spent just under ten months out after injuring her ACL in her right knee in April 2023. Since her return in January 2024, she has made 46 appearances for the north London club and finished seventh in last month’s Ballon d’Or rankings for the 2024-25 season.
Steph Catley, Lotte Wubben-Moy and 19-year-old Katie Reid have been filling the centre-back positions while Williamson has been out. Arsenal have only won two of their first five matches, sitting them at fifth behind Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and reigning champions Chelsea.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Arsenal, Women’s Soccer
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