Arsenal have confirmed the sad news that Dutch midfielder Victoria Pelova has ruptured her ACL on international duty with the Netherlands. Pelova was replaced in the 12th minute of Netherlands’ 1-1 draw with Finland.
She landed awkwardly after a coming together and initially seemed to walk off the pitch in minimum distress, though she was holding her knee. Netherlands manager Andries Jonker said after the game he could not rule out an ACL injury and, sadly, that is what has come to pass.
Pelova enjoyed an outstanding campaign for Arsenal last season, with only Alessia Russo playing more minutes across all competitions. Pelova signed from Ajax in January 2023 and quickly became a fan favourite for her all-action displays in central midfield.
The club say she will undergo surgery shortly.
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal will go into the market for another midfielder but with Kathrine Kuhl now returned from her loan spell at Everton, they have Kim Little, Lia Walti, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Kuhl for the two central midfield positions and may not need to.
Desperate news, she was gearing up for a quality season ahead with the Euros at the end of it. At best an April 2025 return, with just a few games of the season left, she still has the Euros but it’s still wishful thinking at this stage. I presume the data people are picking up possible trends behind these ACL’s, in this instance the gap in the season ending and playing again in a friendly weeks later may have played a role.
I think Leeds uni are doing a 3 year study. I hope it yields definitive information.
Serious study is being made of this subject. There are so many potential factors, but I suspect that load management/lack of rest feature somewhere. Fifa, NewCo – pay attention!
There still seems too many theories but little concrete evidence for the number of these injuries blighting the women’s game. Often it appears that the most innocuous event results in a season on the sidelines. Sorry for Vikki she was developing nicely but maybe it is time for KK and KCC to step up a gear. Look what happened to LWM when Jonas was forced to give her a run in the team last term!
So sad, Get well soon, well as quickly as you safely can.
A terrible injury to suffer.
Devastated. Tim since she continued to play, does that mean there’s a problem with miniscus too, and a longer time out?
She was really making our midfield click. Don’t know what we’re going to do with walti out injured, kcc not having played enough, and Kimmy having occasional knee problems. Feels like we’re back to square one again.
So sad and I agree, VP “solved” our midfield – I’m not sure either Kuhl or Cooney-Cross, is that player yet. The only silver lining for her personally is that she will be fit for the Euros, if her recovery is straightforward. We really could have done with some stability in that area of the pitch, if we are about to add Caldentey as no 10.
Totally agree about each point.
At least it happened just before the big summer transfer window. There’s a chance to plan/react to the news which wouldn’t be possible if it happened early in the next season. Given how long it took the ACL club players to get back to their form after their injuries I think the club needs to react by signing a player. It will likely take a long time for her to be playing at her best again.
Obviously terrible news but I’m almost getting numb to ACLs in women’s game given how often it happens (when the news came out about the injury I assumed it was an ACL for no other reason than that’s where we are now). Only surprise is that there’s no solution yet.
A great shame for her, she will be missed in the coming season. Wishing Pelova a speedy recovery.
VP indeed “solved” our midfield, to quote Ms Fun Gunner. She had a brilliant 2023/24 season, being dynamic, forward thinking, difficult to dispossess – it’s now sadly a long road to recovery for this very promising club player.
It’s time for KK & KCC to “step up a gear”, to quote Mr Peter Story Teller – both are class players with very many attributes & it’s a clear opportunity for them to do so.
I personally don’t favour another signing as cover.
I think it might be unfair to expect KK and KCC to fill Pelova’s role in the team. They are both still very young and can’t be expected to carry that burden. Even all the Barca fan channels are lamenting Pelova’s injury because they were following her hoping she would be going to Barca soon. She was that influential on the pitch.
KCC and Kuhl are starters for their countries. If Kuhl is not ready after 18 months and KCC isn’t ready after a year, we shouldn’t have bought them and it was poor recruitment.
Ready to contribute a lot yes but not ready to be expected to fill a Pelova – sized hole in the team. I think we might disagree on how important Pelova was.
I agree, I don’t think we need to rush out to buy anyone, we’ve a number of very decent young midfielders who we’ve all been keen to see more involved. Now is our chance (and theirs)!
We don’t have any Dutch players on the team for next season, may she have a great recovery.
DVD incoming.