Author: Barkha Roy
The Netherlands’ all-time top scorer, Vivianne Miedema, has said she has “no hope” of competing in this year’s Women’s World Cup due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury suffered in December.
After rupturing her ACL in Arsenal’s 1-0 Champions League group stage defeat to Lyon, the 26-year-old underwent surgery.
From July 20 to August 20, Australia and New Zealand will host the World Cup. The Netherlands came second in the 2019 edition in France.
During half-time of Arsenal’s WSL match against Man City, she revealed when she hopes to be fit, but admitted that she will miss the tournament this summer.
“No hope. I’m definitely going to miss the World Cup, which is difficult,” Miedema told the BBC on Sunday. “I hope to be back at the start of next season. That’s my focus now, I have to be realistic. The recovery is going very well. It’s slow, but with small steps.”
Miedema is the second Arsenal player to suffer the same injury in recent weeks, following the ruptured ACL of England star Beth Mead. Meidema was taken off the pitch on a stretcher in the first half after falling awkwardly while competing for the ball.
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Beth Mead, his Arsenal teammate, is recovering from the same injury she suffered in November. While the England star’s rehabilitation progresses, Miedema has agreed with Sarina Wiegman that the Women’s World Cup will certainly take place without the UEFA Women’s EURO Player of the Tournament.
She said: “Mead is obviously a bit ahead of me, but I think you heard what Sarina said last week: there needs to be a bit of a miracle for her to be fit for the World Cup.”
The striker will continue her recovery as Arsenal prepare to defend their Women’s Super League title against Manchester United in two weeks’ time.
Arsenal lost 1-0 but progressed to the quarter-finals after finishing top of their group. Miedema, who has 95 international goals in 115 appearances, was part of the Dutch team that won the European Championship on home soil in 2017.