Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall confirmed on Friday that Beth Mead, who has been out for 11 months with an ACL injury, could return.
“We have one more training session to go,” said Eidevall. “If she gets through that, she should be 100 per cent ready for squad selection.
“She has a lovely energy, she plays the game with both her right and left foot with really good attacking qualities too. We all know that Beth Mead is a quality football player, so of course we are really looking forward to having her back on the pitch again.”
Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema could also return soon after suffering a similar injury. “Viv has returned to team training, which is really nice, so obviously the next thing from team training is to start playing in games, if that’s friendly games or internal games behind closed doors and so on.
“That’s the next step, and from there on obviously you’re not miles away from being able to be selected to be in the squad, so she’s definitely getting close.”
Another big test for Arsenal, after coming through one last week at Manchester United, Cloe Lacasse scoring a fine goal to put the first point on the board. The problem being that Chelsea, with three wins already, are setting pace their rivals must keep up with. Aston Villa, in pre-season seen as one of those teams that could challenge the top teams but have lost both matches so far. So, the pressure’s on for both teams, and there may be a celebrity guest, or a returning star. Let’s hope to see Beth Mead after 11 long months out.
Kick-off at 2pm at Meadow Park, Borehamwood. Join me.