Back in 2023, I wrote for the Associated Press about the ACL injuries plaguing women’s soccer ahead of the Women’s World Cup.
Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema, England’s Leah Williamson and Beth Mead and Canada’s Janine Beckie were among those who missed out on the tournament because of knee injuries.
The year before, there were estimates of up to 60 players in the world’s top professional women’s leagues who were sidelined because of ACL injuries. Among them was Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who injured her ACL just before the Euros.
Studies have shown women are up to eight times more likely than their male counterparts to suffer ACL injuries in sports involving sudden changes of direction, like soccer and basketball. Dr. Mark Cullen, the team physician for the University of New Hampshire who specializes in orthopedic surgery, told me that some reasons for vulnerability are physical: women have wider hips which impacts knee mechanics.
Others say that women, for a variety of reasons including lack of resources, aren’t trained properly and need better warm up routines, core strength training, landing and deceleration drills and even menstrual cycle tracking. The latter helps players understand when they might be impacted by things like fatigue and sleep interruption, which can both contribute to injuries.
Olivia Moultrie is the latest NWSL player to sustain a season-ending ACL injury. She had five goals for the Thorns this season and was a key attacking player. Moultrie will likely miss World Cup qualifying with the USWNT later this year, though the World Cup is not yet off the table.
“Heartbroken doesn’t even begin to sum up all of the feelings right now,” Moultrie posted to Instagram. “To be taken away from something you love more than anything is a feeling I never wanted to experience. I know there is a reason this path has been chosen for me and I can’t promise everything but I can promise I’ll be back and I’ll be better.”
The injury comes less than two weeks after Emily Sonnett was ruled out of the rest of Gotham’s season with a patellar tendon injury in her knee. Canadian Jordyn Huitema was also sidelined for the rest of the Chicago Stars season with an ACL injury late last month. Jun Endo is also out because of a torn ACL.
Spotrac’s Taylor Vincent said there are 18 NWSL players who have gone down with season-ending knee injuries so far this year.
In April, the NWSL and the NWSLPA joined with FIFPRO, the global players’ union, in Project ACL, which seeks to better understand ACL injuries in women’s soccer. The English Women’s Super League is also participating in the player-centric initiative.
According to the NWSL, Project ACL aims to understand the physical causes of ACL injuries and the professional environments “in which players train, compete and recover.” The project will also look at workload, which has been steadily increasing for elite players.
“Player health and performance are fundamental to the future of our league, and this is an area where we intend to lead,” said Sarah Gregorius, NWSL’s vice-president of Sporting, when the initiative was announced. “Joining Project ACL is an important part of the league’s continued commitment to advancing player safety, bringing together research, data and collaboration to better understand and reduce ACL injuries in women’s soccer. By continuing to invest in this work, we can help build environments where our players are better supported and able to perform at their best.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Soccer’s Kang Women’s Institute has partnered with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have partnered to study how the menstrual cycle impacts performance, injuries and recovery.
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Links
The Athletic profiled Royals coach Jimmy Coenraets
From The IX, how Ted Lasso is helping women’s soccer
All for XI looks at the Defender of the Year race
Sports Business Journal speaks to the NWSL’s CMO about marketing around the World Cup
The Stars fire their coach, bring back Lorne Donaldson
Bay FC have acquired Jenna Nighswonger from Arsenal
Rose Lavelle is a Broadway star
Great story from Al Jazeera on how soccer is helping blind women in Mexico
The Athletic’s nice story on the Chawinga sisters and soccer in Malawi
The Olympic channel with a feature on Cameroon
Chelsea women partner with Fertility Plus to champion fertility awareness
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
