Eat, Sleep, Surgery, Repeat: The Cycle of Knee Injuries in Women's Sport
Image Credit: Anders Henrikson via Wikimedia Commons
As of the 13th of February 2026, there have been at least 16 ACL injuries in women’s football this year alone.
Knee injuries have plagued women’s sport at all levels, and in some cases, have ended players’ careers. There are numerous reasons why I feel strongly about this topic: women’s medicine has historically been dismissed, there has been a lack of research into serious knee injuries, and it is personal to my own circumstances. Recently, I sustained a complex meniscus tear whilst playing football, and at this time, I am almost four months post-surgical repair, not yet fully recovered. My experiences encouraged me to talk with other female athletes about knee injuries, as their impact on daily life is immense.
Research shows that women are two to eight times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than men. The reasons for this lie in female anatomy and hormonal fluctuations, the way female athletes are treated, and work overload. However, these theories cannot be proved by science. But why is this? Unfortunately, historically, women’s sports have been pushed to the side, meaning that whilst men’s sports have billions poured into ensuring athletes have access to the best medical professionals, women’s sports and sports medicine have been woefully underfunded and underresearched.
Although women’s sport is starting to receive more funding, high-level athletes are still struggling to cover their medical costs when their clubs fail to help them. In 2024, Stoke City player Kayleigh McDonald was forced to set up a GoFundMe page to cover her medical expenses after the club informed her that she would have to join the NHS waitlist to receive surgery. Although Stoke City U-turned on this decision, it demonstrates that a lack of funding creates serious issues that put players’ careers at risk.
Another lesser discussed side of sporting injuries is the impact on players’ mental health, which can be severe for both professional and amateur players. In a study conducted by scientists from institutions including Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania, 42% of patients with ACL reconstruction met the criteria for major depressive disorder. Speaking to Birmingham University rugby player Lily Everitt, who suffered a ruptured ACL, a partially torn MCL and a meniscus injury, she talked about how loneliness deeply impacted her, with her teammates continuing to play whilst she was sidelined. This is something experienced by many, including myself, as my injury isolated me from my peers, which was difficult, having only just begun my studies at UCL. The isolative nature of these injuries does not just impact professional athletes; amateurs also suffer from the same consequences, yet there is still a lack of conversation around the impact of physical injuries on mental health.
Furthermore, players’ lives are significantly affected by sports injuries. Poppy Mann, a University of Birmingham lacrosse alumna, sustained a torn meniscus and discussed the difficulties of having repeat surgeries when recovery doesn’t go to plan. Having undergone three separate surgeries for her injury due to it re-tearing, her semester abroad was unfortunately cut short, and she was prevented from playing contact sports. Jenny Greenwood also struggled with a change in lifestyle, as rupturing her ACL during a skiing holiday means that until she undergoes surgery, she can no longer engage in her usual active lifestyle outside of work. During our interview, we also discussed the impact of sustaining a serious knee injury in your 50s, as the surgery and recovery success rate declines significantly with age.
For Winter Olympics fans, seeing Lindsay Vonn being airlifted off the mountain after crashing in the women’s alpine event while skiing with a ruptured ACL was extremely concerning. Skiing accidents are a common cause of ACL tears, especially for those over 50 years old. However, unlike Vonn, who underwent surgery the same day of her crash, the NHS has waiting lists of around a year to have surgery. Both Lily and Jenny discussed the importance of access to private healthcare, as NHS waitlists can leave patients unable to play sport for extended periods. This shows that, despite efforts to level the playing field, money remains a major barrier in sports.
The ACL crisis, although a term coined by women’s football, is affecting the entire women’s sporting world. Athletes from grassroots to professional levels are suffering from serious knee injuries, and the lack of research behind the frequency within women’s sport makes it difficult to combat this crisis. Now, we can only hope to see more progress in research into these devastating injuries.
More attention, care, and compassion need to be paid to both the physical and mental toll these injuries put female athletes through.