Michelle Agyemang suffered a suspected serious knee injury while playing for England against Australia at Pride Park on 28 October, leaving Arsenal and Brighton anxiously awaiting medical results.
The 19-year-old forward had only been on the pitch for 18 minutes before her studs stuck in the turf jarring her knee, leaving her in clear distress.
The reaction from players on both sides made it immediately apparent that it was serious.
Agyemang was stretchered off in tears to a standing ovation from the Derby crowd and later left the stadium on crutches.
After the game, England manager Sarina Wiegman described the moment as “horrible” and said the injury “doesn’t look good.”
“Of course that looked horrible,” Wiegman said. “When you’re stretchered off, it’s not nice anyway. It doesn’t look good. Of course, not confirmed but it looks bad.”
She then added, “Well of course it was an awful moment, it doesn’t look good. She needs to be assessed, I’m not very positive about what I’ve seen.”
England went on to win 3-0, but the result was overshadowed by the injury to one of the country’s brightest young players.
A full diagnosis has yet to be confirmed, but early signs strongly suggest a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury.
Arsenal medical staff will assess the forward upon her return to London, but it seems unlikely the news will be positive.
In other Arsenal news from the game, Beth Mead played the full 90 minutes, while Taylor Hinds marked her senior England debut with a composed display before being substituted in the 62nd minute. Chloe Kelly came off the bench late on.
For Australia, Arsenal trio Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, and Kyra Cooney-Cross all featured, with Foord and Cooney-Cross withdrawn in the closing minutes and Catley playing 70 minutes.
Arsenal fixtures moved
Arsenal Women’s December WSL fixtures have been confirmed, with two matches set for live Sky Sports coverage.
Renée Slegers’ side will host Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, 6 December, kicking off at 12pm, before travelling to Goodison Park to face Everton on Saturday, 13 December, also at 12pm.