Chelsea midfielder Sophie Ingle is set for an extended period on the sidelines after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during pre-season.
The 33-year-old suffered the injury during the friendly against Feyenoord on September 7, where she was introduced at half time before being forced off after 74 minutes.
Ingle underwent assessments from Chelsea’s medical team and a knee specialist and is now set for surgery. She will then undergo her rehabilitation at the club.
The Wales international is the third Chelsea player to be sidelined with an ACL injury this year, with strikers Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel both also out with a similar issue.
Ingle has played an important role as Chelsea have dominated the Women’s Super League in recent seasons. She first played for the club between 2012 and 2014, before re-joining from Liverpool in 2018.
Ingle has won five WSL titles and the FA Cup on three occasions, and last season became the WSL’s all-time record appearance holder, having featured 192 times in the competition.
She made 14 league appearances last season as Chelsea won a record-extending fifth successive WSL title.
Ingle has been capped 139 times by Wales and has captained her country since 2015. Wales remain in contention to qualify for Euro 2025 and play Slovakia in the play-off semi-finals in October.
Chelsea begin the 2024-25 WSL season under new head coach Sonia Bompastor against Aston Villa on September 20.
(Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)
