Arsenal Women have confirmed that Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema will be out for a lengthy period of time after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament.
The 26-year-old went down off the ball in Thursday's Women's Champions League clash with Lyon, having awkwardly jarred her knee on the turf in the first half.
Teammates gathered around Miedema with faces of anguish before she was brought off the Emirates field, as Arsenal went on to suffer a 1-0 defeat to the European champions.
Jonas Eidevall's side still qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite that loss, but concern immediately turned to their stricken striker after the contest.
The initial signs were not positive for Miedema, whose partner Beth Mead is also sidelined for the long-term with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and she has now suffered the same fate.
In a statement, Arsenal confirmed that the Netherlands international would soon undergo surgery on her own torn ACL, but the club have not put an exact timeframe on her recovery.
"We can confirm that Vivianne Miedema suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament during our UEFA Women's Champions League match against Lyon at Emirates Stadium on Thursday," the statement read.
© Reuters
"Viv will undergo surgery in the coming days and will unfortunately be ruled out for an extended period of time. A more detailed timescale will be established once the operation is complete.
"Everyone at Arsenal wishes Viv well in her recovery and will be providing her with all the support she needs to return to action as soon as possible."
While Arsenal have not been able to definitively say how long Miedema will be sidelined for, the striker will expect to remain in the treatment room for several months and could potentially miss the rest of the season.
Miedema is also fighting an uphill battle to return in time for the 2023 Women's World Cup, with the Netherlands taking on holders USA, Vietnam and the Group A playoff winners next summer.
The former Bayern Munich attacker has amassed a staggering 114 goals in 132 appearances for Arsenal since joining in 2017, including six strikes from 13 games in the 2022-23 season so far.
Miedema holds the record for the most Women's Super League goals with 74, and she is also the all-time leading goalscorer for the Netherlands with 95 strikes.
Ben Knapton
