What changed
The Football Association and WSL Football have launched a funded PhD study with Imperial College London and sports knee surgeon Simon Ball to investigate ACL injuries in women’s football. Led by Hanna Lehtovirta, it will invite players and staff from every WSL and WSL2 club to take part.
The study will compare players who suffered ACL injuries since 2018-19 with those who did not, using surveys and interviews.
Why it matters
ACL injuries can keep players out for months. Research cited in the account suggests female footballers are two to six times more likely to suffer them than male players, making this one of the sport’s most persistent problems.
The study will examine injury history, training and match load, hormonal, nutritional and psychological factors, plus how clubs currently approach prevention. That mix matters because the question is not simply whether one risk exists, but how several parts of elite football may interact in a player’s daily routine.
The project could give clubs better evidence for injury prevention, rehabilitation and player welfare. But it has not produced findings yet, and it is not known when recommendations will emerge or whether clubs will adopt them.
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