England star Walsh stretchered off vs. Denmark
-
Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
SYDNEY — England manager Sarina Wiegman said she was “concerned” with Keira Walsh‘s injury after the star midfielder was stretchered off in the 35th minute of their Women’s World Cup 1-0 win against Denmark on Friday with a leg injury.
Walsh, 26, appeared to injure her right leg as she stretched for a wayward pass. She immediately collapsed to the ground and signalled to the referee for help, bringing the game to a halt.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Television cameras showed Walsh telling physios she had hurt her knee, and after receiving on-field treatment, the England star was stretchered off and replaced by Laura Coombs.
Wiegman was asked about the injury post-match, and said: “Of course I’m concerned because she couldn’t walk off the pitch, but we don’t know yet, so we can’t take any assumptions. Let’s just wait until we really have a diagnosis and then we can tell you.”
The England manager added on the BBC: “”It was very clear that she needed to be subbed. That’s not nice. We started well, then we had the horrible moment with Keira, and the second-half was a fight.
“We adapted to the new situation, and we really, really had to fight for the win. I’m very proud of the team.”
England went on to win the match 1-0 thanks to Lauren James‘ goal in the sixth minute. But the mood afterwards was downbeat as the team’s thoughts turned to Walsh.
Sources have told ESPN that there will be no further news on the nature of Walsh’s injury on Friday.
Walsh moved from Manchester City to Barcelona last year for a world-record fee reported to be in the region of $470,000, winning the Liga F and Champions League double in her first season in Spain.
If the injury is severe, the midfielder will be tough to replace in an England side already missing captain Leah Williamson, Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner Beth Mead and Fran Kirby to serious knee injuries.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to see one of our most valuable players get hurt but we had to just focus on getting the win and focus on what team that was playing at the time,” teammate James said.
