Managers at top WSL clubs have reiterated mounting concerns over player welfare and safety as injuries continue to plague squads amid a dangerously congested fixtures list.
Chelsea midfielder Pernille Harder and Arsenal forward Beth Mead are two of the most recent heavyweights to be added to the WSL’s swelling injury list. Harder recently underwent surgery on her hamstring after getting injured in Denmark’s match against Switzerland earlier this month, while Mead ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during a recent defeat to Manchester United.
And speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League group stage victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday, manager Emma Hayes expressed her frustration at the presumed failure of the women’s game to prioritise its players’ health and wellbeing.
“I’ve made it clear player welfare needs looking at,” Hayes said. “Erin Cuthbert went away, Scotland played a game on Saturday and then they played her again less than 48 hours later on a Monday. It’s outrageous that players are put in those positions.
She added: “Pernille wants to do everything, it’s not the fault of anybody, these injuries come for many reasons, but I feel players playing in World Cups and European Championships, being given two weeks rest between seasons, is unacceptable.
“We need to start putting the players first. It’s killing the players. I’m not talking on behalf of my own, it’s across the board. Look at the injuries in the women’s game.”
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall echoed Hayes’ sentiments soon after following his side’s Champions League group stage draw with Italian champions Juventus on Thursday night. Arsenal were forced to rotate their squad with an injury list now including Mead, Leah Williamson and Lina Hurtig.
Vivianne Miedema returned to the starting XI, marking the Dutch forward’s first start for Arsenal since November 3 before she was granted a leave of absence from the club to “rest and recharge” following a difficult start to the campaign, in which the league’s all-time scorer notched just two goals in five matches and was largely restricted to substitute appearances.
Miedema’s second-half header salvaged a crucial point for the Gunners, and Eidevall emphasised the rewards reaped when the wellbeing of players is underlined.
“I think it's always a balance between freshness and having continuity in training and playing,” he said. “You obviously need to strike that balance. You can see that Viv was really fighting hard today together with the team on the pitch and that's what we need.”
The warnings issued by managers arrive just as when women’s football is set for another seismic shake-up in the recently announced women’s Nations League by UEFA. The competition, commencing in August 2023, is set to eliminate unproductive friendlies and deliver more jeopardy to the women’s game at international level, as well as provide further opportunities for qualification for the European Championship and World Cup.
However, the nascent competition has come under fire from managers who view its introduction to an already bloated fixture list as potentially more detrimental to their players' safety if not adequately addressed.
“I really think it's something that we need to consider in women's football when we see the calendar - to see how we put the players' health first here,” Eidevall said. “They are constantly going between really competitive games at club level onto an international level.
"It has been taking up a lot of my thinking time because my gut feeling says that we're not creating something that is good for the players at the moment."
Eidevall added: “So my idea off the top of my head was that in the calendar, you should have protected periods for the players where no club football and no national team football should be played. Because at the moment, you end up with players that barely have any vacation at all.
"And it's consecutive year after year after year. So it's really fine that we're going to play more competitive games - that's great. But let's create a calendar that allows for the players to also recover, so we can have quality.”
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