Despite the number of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries skyrocketing for women footballers, it’s still unclear exactly why.
The latest research has revealed women are up to six times more likely than men to suffer from ACL problems, with an estimated 195 players succumbing to the crippling knee injury in the last 18 months.
Ellie Doyle, 24, plays for Tranmere Rovers was side-lined this season after being diagnosed with an ACL rupture in October.
“I was running, it wasn’t even after a tackle. My knee buckled and I knew straight away,” she said.
The Tranmere forward was left with no choice but to pay for her own rehabilitation, despite asking the club for help, following her corrective surgery last month.
Several theories that have been put forward as to why these particular injuries are now so prevalent in the women’s game.
This week, a three-year initiative, Project ACL, was launched which aims to find ways to reduce the knee-injury epidemic of Women’s Football.
The project is a joint effort between Players’ union FIFPRO, the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), Nike and Leeds Beckett University.
“They’ve blamed hormonal workloads, low-quality pitches, inadequate boots and even hereditary factors – there’s probably some truth in them all,” Doyle said.
Ellie’s twin sister, Emma Doyle, who plays for Blackburn Rovers, finally returned to the pitch this season after two years out with her own anterior cruciate ligament tear.
Evie Drsicoll-King, 21, plays for Peterborough United. Although she has never suffered with an ACL injury in her career, she has seen the plague of knee injuries affect several of her teammates.
“I know six girls who’ve had cruciate ligament problems, including a girl I played with a few years ago,” she said. “I heard she did her other knee this season as well.”
Driscoll-King, believes the Project ACL initiative is a step in the right direction. She said: “Women are pleased this is happening. It’s not difficult to reel off names of girls who’ve done their ACL, including superstars, like Leah Williamson and Beth Mead.”
