GiveMeSport
·16 December 2022
GiveMeSport
·16 December 2022
Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema has been sent messages of support after she was stretchered off during a match against Lyon.
The Gunners qualified for the knockout stages of the Women’s Champions League, despite a 1-0 loss to the reigning champions.
But the occasion was blighted by a serious injury to Miedema, who fell to the ground in the 45th minute of the match at the Emirates.
It was immediately clear something was seriously wrong – the 26-year-old remained completely still on the ground, only moving to gesture for medical help.
She was visibly upset as she was stretchered off, receiving comfort from teammates and opponents alike.
Replays showed Miedema’s knee twist as she landed awkwardly while contesting a loose ball, and while there has yet to be a medical update from Arsenal, there are fears the Dutch striker could have suffered an ACL injury.
Miedema received an outpouring of support from fans on social media after her injury.
She was also consoled by former Arsenal teammate and Dutch compatriot Daniëlle van de Donk, who was on the pitch playing for Lyon.
“I feel very sad for her [Miedema], because you don’t wish that on anyone,” Van de Donk said in a half-time interview. “It doesn’t look good, so my thoughts are with her.”
Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor then spoke about the incident after the match.
“I’m very sad for the Arsenal team and also for Miedema. It seems to be very serious,” she said.
“I feel for her, I wish it will not be a big injury. But it’s sad for the women’s game to lose some great players, as she is.”
Arsenal legend Ian Wright was another to comment on the injury, posting this simple tweet after the incident: “Viv 🥺🙏🏿”.
Miedema’s teammate Lia Wälti did similar, writing: “Viv…❤️❤️❤️” at the end of her caption for an Instagram post from the match.
There has not yet been an official update on Miedema’s injury, with Eidevall unable to provide more information in his post-match interview.
“I don’t know [how bad it is]. I haven’t spoken to her or the doctor,” he said. “I don’t have any updates but right now that takes a lot of my thoughts. I’m very concerned over that, but we had to stay focused on the game.
“After the game we are concerned but [at half-time] we are super professional, we don’t let anything take away our focus from what we are doing.”