Vivianne Miedema injury: Arsenal striker to miss extended period and undergo surgery on ACL injury

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema has been ruled out for an "extended period" and will undergo surgery on her ACL injury.

The Women's Super League all-time top goalscorer was stretchered off during the Champions League fixture against Lyon at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night, with Miedema visibly upset after sustaining the blow.

Arsenal confirmed Miedema will undergo surgery in the coming days.

The 26-year-old joins her Arsenal team-mate Beth Mead on the sidelines after she also suffered an ACL injury last month.

• Beth Mead out with ACL injury and could miss World Cup
• Why are ACL injuries so common in women's football?
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In a statement, Miedema said: "Absolutely gutted to share I've ruptured my ACL in our last game against Lyon.

"It was one of those moments, where I knew straight away. So may things going through your head: I won't be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long, long time.

"I won't be telling you I'll come back stronger or that I'm looking forward to spending the next however many months in the gym. It will be tough with plenty of difficult days (plenty of crying, which we've had a lot of already), but sadly enough it's part of football.

"I'm lucky enough to have amazing team-mates, freinds and family around me and Beth, who can guide me through everything that's coming while only being a couple of weeks ahead of me. (Can't wait to do some boxing in the gym after she's been annoying me for a while).

"Thank you for all your messages, I do really appreciate them and they are helping a lot!

"For now, I'll be getting myself ready for surgery and it's time for a much-needed Christmas break."

Miedema is the latest female footballer to be sidelined with a ruptured ACL. As well as Mead, West Ham's Jessica Ziu, Aston Villa's Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah and Tottenham duo Kyah Simon and Ellie Brazil have also been ruled out of action this season.

The issue also came to the fore during the summer's European Championships. Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas missed the tournament after rupturing her ACL just days before Spain's opening game. Simone Magill also picked up the same injury in Northern Ireland's opening game of the tournament against Norway, just days after signing for Aston Villa.

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France striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto also limped off in their second group game against Belgium, having also ruptured her ACL. She had been one of the favourites to win the Euro 2022 Golden Boot.

Female footballers are up to six times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than their male counterparts, but as yet, very little scientific research has been done into why that is the case.

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