Beth Mead hopes to recover from an ACL injury in time for the 2023 World Cup, with the Lionesses seeking to build on their success at the European Championship this year.
Beth Mead was awarded the tournament’s most valuable player and won the Golden Boot at Euro 2022. Due to her accomplishments, the Arsenal striker finished second in the 2022 Ballon d’Or behind Alexia Putellas and became the first female footballer to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Mead was supposed to be one of the stars of the next World Cup when England would begin in a group with Denmark and China, and a qualification that would decide who would join them from Chile, Senegal, or Haiti. Due to a torn ACL sustained in the last minutes of Arsenal’s WSL match against Manchester United on 19 November, she is considerable doubt about the competition.
Mead hopes that the few days over eight months before England’s first World Cup match would be sufficient time for her to rehabilitate and return to duty.
The 27-year-old, who came to the BBC SPOTY event on crutches despite not needing them the whole evening and subsequently appearing on stage without them, underwent successful knee surgery in early December. Consequently, she is currently focused on healing and treatment.
“I will do all in my power to qualify for the World Cup,” Mead told BBC Sport.
There are lovely and terrible days with this injury, but I’ll work hard behind the scenes with Arsenal. Recovery from the injuries may take between six and nine months. Therefore, I shall strive for the fastest possible time.”
A six-month rehabilitation would see Mead back in action in May, maybe in time for the conclusion of the WSL season, which concludes on 28 May. There is an almost two-month gap between the domestic season and the World Cup, but it will nevertheless be a fight against time.
No two ACL tears are identical. However, for perspective considerations, England’s other Euro 2022 star, Chloe Kelly, lost 11 months between May 2021 and April 2022. Aoife Mannion is expected to return to play for Manchester United in January 2023, 11 months after suffering an ACL injury in February.
