Arsenal have confirmed that midfielder Malin Gut will undergo surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament but why do women suffer this injury more than men?

Malin Gut 21 Arsenal during the Vitality Womens FA Cup game between Arsenal v Gilligham at Meadow Park, London, England. The Vitaly Womens FA Cup - Arsenal v Gilligham
Malin Gut 21 Arsenal during the Vitality Womens FA Cup game between Arsenal v Gilligham at Meadow Park, London, England. The Vitaly Womens FA Cup – Arsenal v Gilligham

Writing in an update on Arsenal.com, the club said, “The injury occurred during a training session in the week and Malin has since been receiving specialist care. The operation will take place in the coming weeks, after which she will begin her rehabilitation programme immediately.”

The 20-year-old signed for Arsenal in the summer now faces around 10 months on the sidelines after making 16 appearances for the Gunners.

How to repair an ACL and why women suffer them more than men

Why are women so much more susceptible to this sort of injury than men? We decided to seek out expert opinion about the matter when Jordan Nobbs did her ACL back in 2018.

We spoke to Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT, a Wellness coach and performance specialist from LA about the problem.

He put together this brilliant video about the problem, why it happens, how surgery repairs the problem, why women suffer ACLs more than men and what her recovery should look like:

You can follow Dr Raj on Twitter, read his blog here and check out his clinic website here.

Jordan Nobbs calls for research into link between periods and ACL injuries

In 2019, Jordan Nobbs called for research into a link between menstrual cycles and ACL injuries which affect female footballers significantly more than male.

BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 07: Jordan Nobbs presents on BT Sport during the FA WSL Cup match between Arsenal Women and Manchester United Women at Meadow Park on February 07, 2019 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 07: Jordan Nobbs presents on BT Sport during the FA WSL Cup match between Arsenal Women and Manchester United Women at Meadow Park on February 07, 2019 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

“Until I got injured I didn’t really know that a lot of women do it while in their menstrual cycle,” Nobbs told the BBC while adding that her period had begun the morning of her injury.

Oestrogen, which is released during menstruation, can increase joint flexibility according to current research.

“I was very tired leading up to that week and I was on the first day of my menstrual cycle,” Nobbs continued.

“I’m not one for saying it was that, but the facts on how so many women have done their knee and been on their menstrual cycle is very high.

“I don’t know if it was down to that but it was a very high factor.”

“I always know it can happen,” Vivianne Miedema said after Nobbs picked up her injury. “In the last couple of years, all we have been doing is research to see what the injury is and how you can prevent that. We just need to focus on our games and training and try to stay fit and just hope that we are lucky to not get that injury.”

Conversations like this are still very much taboo in society, never mind in the world of football.

However, it must be acknowledged that if men had to endure a menstrual cycle, we would discuss it with the same reaction as someone talking about washing their hair.