Arsenal Women lose another key player ahead of Super Sunday WSL clash with Chelsea by Michelle
Arsenal Women boss Jonas Eidevall has confirmed that Swiss international midfielder, Lia Wälti, will be unavailable for Arsenal’s last 2 games of the 2022-23 WSL season, which includes the Chelsea v Arsenal Women WSL fixture at Kingsmeadow, on Super Sunday 21st May.
This injury is just added to Eidevall’s already long injury list, so it is little surprise that big bookies like W88 have Chelsea as odds on favourites to win the game, but Arsenal managed to shock Chelsea in the Conti Cup Final, so a price of 2/1 may be appealing to some fans. Arsenal had many injured players out for that game as well.
Wälti sustained her injury after a heavy challenge from Everton’s Aggie Beever-Jones, at Walton Hall Park on Wednesday evening, when Arsenal beat Everton Women 4-1. Beever-Jones was red-carded for the incident and sent off the pitch. Wälti had to be stretchered off the pitch.
With a high number of Arsenal Women already side-lined due to season-ending injuries, there had been much concern that Lia’s injury could be significant, potentially ruling her out of this summers FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand, but Jonas Eidevall has confirmed that this should not be the case.
“She’s out for the season for us but the initial examinations show that it is not too bad,” Eidevall said when speaking in Arsenal‘s pre-Chelsea press conference.
“It’s not a multiple-months injury, she should be able to recover in good time for the World Cup which is very important for her as a player and I am very happy that it wasn’t more serious. I was afraid that it could be, so that was a relief.
“Unfortunately, she cannot be on the pitch anymore for Arsenal this season.”
Wälti’s presence in Arsenal’s midfield will be sorely missed, especially as fellow-midfielder and Arsenal captain Kim Little is out of action too, after suffering a season-ending hamstring injury. We wish Lia a speedy recovery but for now, she joins Arsenal’s growing list of injured players, which includes Beth Mead (ACL), Vivianne Miedema (ACL), Leah Williamson (ACL), Laura Wienroither (ACL), captain Kim Little (hamstring) and Lina Hurtig. We can at least be thankful that Arsenal’s Australian duo, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord, are back from injury.
You can watch Arsenal Women on WSL Super Sunday 21st May, away to Chelsea at Kingsmeadow Stadium. The match kicks off at 12.30 UK and will be broadcast live on BBC2 and iplayer.
COYGW!
Michelle Maxwell
