Beth Mead ruptured her ACL in November 2022, sidelining her for the Women's World Cup; the Lionesses star is set to be part of Arsenal's WSL squad vs Aston Villa at the Emirates on Sunday; Watch free match highlights from every WSL game this season across Sky Sports' digital platforms
Sunday 15 October 2023 16:02, UK
Jonas Eidevall has confirmed Arsenal forward Beth Mead could make her first WSL appearance since November 2022 this weekend after finally recovering from an ACL injury.
Mead suffered the rupture in November 2022 against Manchester United at the Emirates. It ended her domestic season, as well as her hopes of representing England at the Women's World Cup.
After returning to full training, the Lionesses star is now set to feature in the Gunners' WSL squad for the first time in 11 months on Sunday. Arsenal return to the Emirates to take on Aston Villa, aiming for their first league win of the season.
Ahead of the game, head coach Eidevall said: "For squad selection, we have one more training session to go. If she goes through that, she should be 100 per cent ready for selection in the squad.
"She has a lovely energy, she plays the game with it. She has a right and left foot, really good attacking qualities. We all know she is a quality football player, and we're really looking forward to having her back on the pitch."
The 28-year-old was previously included in Arsenal's Champions League squad for their qualifiers against Linkoping FC and Paris FC in Sweden last month, but was an unused substitute in both games as the Gunners were knocked out of the competition.
Mead was not the only Arsenal player to be sidelined with an ACL injury last year. Vivianne Miedema, Leah Williamson and Laura Wienrothier all suffered the same injury and will make their returns later this season.
Miedema has also returned to first-team training at London Colney, but is slightly further behind in her rehabilitation than Mead.
"Unfortunately, we have a group who have all gone through the same thing," Eidevall added. "At the end of the day, you need to deal with your things yourself.
"Even if it looks on paper like you have the same injury, it's never exactly the same. There are always differences, and as with anything going on in your life, there are similarities. You can help, but at the end of the day everything is going to be unique to you as an individual.
"I try to be very mindful of that, not treating people with similar situations like a package. You need to look at it individually, but both of them are now close to returning to play and hopefully Beth can be in the squad on Sunday."
Sunday's game sees Arsenal return to the Emirates without a win at the home of Arsenal men in any of their last three WSL visits, including a shock opening-day 1-0 defeat by Liverpool at the start of this month.
Eidevall rejected any suggestion of negativity around playing in the less familiar surroundings than their regular Meadow Park home in Borehamwood, and insisted a quick return only a fortnight after that defeat was exactly what he would have wanted.
He said: "We played Chelsea in January, which was a strong performance and conceded in the final minutes. We beat Bayern Munich 2-0, we had a draw against Wolfsburg and took them to extra time, and we were inches away from a CL final.
"Is it a problem playing at the Emirates? Not at all. Am I so happy to go back so quickly after such a disappointing performance against Liverpool? Absolutely."
Sunday October 15 - Arsenal vs Aston Villa, WSL, kick-off 2pm
Sunday October 22 - Bristol City vs Arsenal, WSL, kick-off 6.45pm, live on Sky Sports
Sunday November 5 - Arsenal vs Man City, WSL, kick-off 12.30pm
Thursday November 9 - Arsenal vs Bristol City, Conti Cup, kick-off 7pm
Sunday November 12 - Leicester vs Arsenal, WSL, kick-off 6.45pm, live on Sky Sports
Sunday November 19 - Brighton vs Arsenal, WSL, kick-off 2pm
