Leah Williamson out of Women’s World Cup

England captain Leah Williamson is to miss this summer’s Women’s World Cup, in a major blow to the Lionesses’ chances of lifting their first world title, after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee just three months prior to the start of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

The Arsenal centre-back suffered the injury inside the first 15 minutes of Wednesday’ Women’s Super League match at Leigh Sports Village, with Arsenal going on to lose 1-0 to their hosts Manchester United.

Williamson is the third star player at the north London club to suffer an ACL injury this season, after Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema both underwent surgery for the same injury before Christmas.

It is the latest in a line of injuries to senior England players ahead of the World Cup – with Mead requiring a “miracle” in order to be fit in time, Chelsea forward Fran Kirby still sidelined with a knee problem that she suffered in February, and centre-back Millie Bright also currently out with a knee issue – but Williamson’s is the most definite in terms of her absence from the tournament, which begins on 20 July.

It’s also yet another blow to Arsenal’s WSL title hopes and their bid for Women’s Champions League glory, coming after their captain Kim Little (hamstring) was ruled out for the rest of the season last Monday. They face Wolfsburg in the first leg of their European semi-final on Sunday.

How will England possibly replace Williamson?

Losing Williamson is a truly dreadful blow for the Lionesses, with the 26-year-old having proven to be a superb leader for the European champions, on and off the pitch, and having become accustomed to lifting trophies in her 18-month spell as captain. As a team, England have won four pieces of silverware in that time, and lost just one match. She would have been extremely likely to start every England match in the World Cup, as part of the first-choice centre-back pairing alongside Bright.

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In terms of the starting XI and the starting centre-back pairings specifically, England are fortunate in that they have another top-class defender who is very adept at playing in the left-sided centre-back role, in Manchester City‘s Alex Greenwood. Another ball-playing defender, Greenwood will surely fill that role in the team.

However, that leaves a spot to fill in the starting team at left-back, where Greenwood has tended to start for England this season, and that could either mean that Chelsea‘s Jess Carter is brought in at left-back, or that Aston Villa striker Rachel Daly reverts to left-back, where she played throughout last summer’s Euros, but that would remove an attacking option for the Lionesses. Prior to Williamson’s injury, Daly was expected to fight for the number-nine shirt with the current first-choice central striker, Manchester United’s Alessia Russo.

More broadly, Williamson’s absence will create a vacancy that needs filling in the squad that travels to Australia, and that could mean that her Arsenal team-mate Lotte Wubben-Moy heads Down Under instead. Wubben-Moy was initially left out of April’s squad of 25 players to face Brazil and Australia, but was added to the squad when Bright had to withdraw with her own knee problem. However, that 25 will eventually need to be whittled down to a final 23, the maximum number of players Wiegman can register for the World Cup.

Manchester United centre-back Maya Le Tissier looks likely to be picked in the squad, partly because she can also cover at right-back, but the same could also be said of Manchester City’s Esme Morgan, who was given a chance at centre-back alongside Williamson in April’s rare defeat against Australia.

More on the fringes of the squad at centre-back is West Ham‘s Lucy Parker – who remains uncapped – whilst if head coach Sarina Wiegman was to look to the England Under-23s squad, in-form Aston Villa centre-back Anna Patten, who turned 24 on Thursday, could be the next in line for a call-up.

Not forgetting, of course, former England captain Steph Houghton, who has not played for the Lionesses since suffering an achilles injury at the start of Wiegman’s tenure and then being overlooked since. Houghton has 121 caps and, at 34 years of age – 35 from Sunday 23rd April – would be by far the most experienced member of the squad, if she was recalled. Her Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor has repeatedly praised her fine club form in recent weeks, but in April Wiegman said Houghton’s chances of a World Cup call-up were “not that high”, whilst insisting she would never fully close the door.