Beth Mead's absence was the unfortunate asterisk alongside the Lionesses' recent romp to a second successive Arnold Clark Cup title, but the Arsenal and England striker has insisted her recovery from injury is “ahead of schedule” and did not rule out featuring at the summer’s Women’s World Cup.
Mead suffered a ruptured ACL in November during the Gunners’ league defeat to Manchester United, ruling her out for the remainder of the season and sending the Euro2022 star into a race against time to regain fitness before the summer’s showpiece event.
The 27-year-old lifted the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards during England’s historic Euro2022 triumph, and her injury arrived as a potential major blow to Sarina Wiegman’s ranks as they looked ahead to July without one of their most potent goalscorers.
