By OkayGoal
The Football Association and WSL Football have teamed up with Imperial College London on a new study into ACL injuries, the knee problem that has cost the women’s game some of its biggest names in recent seasons. All clubs across the Barclays WSL and WSL2 are being asked to take part, from the players themselves to the medical, performance and coaching staff around them.
Announced on Thursday, the project is being run as a PhD programme funded by the FA. Imperial researcher Hanna Lehtovirta, based in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, is leading the work, with Fortius Clinic knee surgeon Simon Ball also involved. According to the FA’s announcement, the aim is to find out why anterior cruciate ligament ruptures keep happening in the elite women’s game and to turn those findings into practical prevention advice.
Surveys first, then interviews
The research is split into two stages. In the first, players complete surveys covering their injury record, how much they train and play, and hormonal, nutritional and psychological factors. Anyone who has ruptured an ACL since the 2018-19 campaign will have their answers set against those of players who have avoided the injury, in the hope of spotting patterns linked to risk.
The second stage goes back to the same group for interviews, and this time staff are brought in too. The FA says plenty of earlier research has looked at single factors, often in a lab, and that far less is known about how they combine in the daily routine of a professional squad. Lehtovirta said her team would be looking at everything “from minutes played and injury prevention practices at clubs to how players developed before they entered professional football.”
ESPN reports that data gathering began in June and that the study is set to run for three years.
Why it matters for the WSL
The numbers explain the urgency. Research cited by ESPN suggests women are around twice as likely as men to suffer an ACL injury, and roughly two in every three cases happen with no contact from another player. England captain Leah Williamson and Beth Mead both missed the 2023 World Cup after rupturing the ligament, and Vivianne Miedema has also had to come back from the injury during her time in England.
Ritan Mehta, the FA’s Head of Women’s Medical, was clear about the scale of the problem. “ACL injuries remain one of the biggest challenges facing female footballers,” she said. “While significant progress has been made in understanding the factors that may contribute to these injuries, there is still much more to learn.”
WSL Football’s Medical Governance Lead, Dr Abosede Ajayi, pointed to the mix of football, healthcare and academia behind the project, saying the findings could “inform medical standards across the women’s game”. Ball put it more bluntly: “ACL injury is devastating for professional athletes,” he said, adding that “prevention is better than cure!”
For more on how ACL injuries have hit the women’s game, read our reports Spurs confirm record signing Alice Sombath has ruptured her ACL and Project ACL puts WSL injury crisis back in focus with cross-league research.
The English study follows a similar move in the United States, where the NWSL and its players’ association joined Project ACL in April. The FA also marked the launch on social media:
Together with the @BarclaysWSL, we have launched a new research project to better understand ACL injuries in women’s football.
The FA (@FA) November 5, 2026
