Arsenal defender suffers another injury setback with the club now facing a longer wait before the player will be available.
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Returning from a long-term injury requires careful management of both physical and mental demands. Setbacks can occur even after a player has successfully reintegrated into full training sessions with the group. Those interruptions often force a reassessment of timelines that had begun to look more optimistic.
Squads across the women’s game regularly balance the need for competitive minutes with the protection of players coming back from significant lay-offs. Medical and performance staff work closely to rebuild robustness, yet individual cases can still produce unexpected complications. The latest update highlights how quickly a planned return can shift.
READ MORE: Arsenal winger out until the November international break after suffering a calf tear
Katie Reid has suffered another setback in her return to action, with Arsenal now facing a longer wait before the defender will be available. The 20-year-old is facing another spell on the sidelines after picking up an ankle injury just as she had returned to training following her ACL injury.
Renée Slegers has confirmed the defender is not expected back before Christmas, putting the brakes on a comeback which had reached the point where Reid was finally training with the rest of the squad again. Speaking at her pre-Aston Villa press conference, Slegers said: “Katie Reid, she was back training with the team, she got an ankle injury, which sets her back, which is unfortunate, so we don’t expect her to be back before Christmas.”
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She added: “That’s unfortunate for her and that’s a setback. Otherwise, the rest is the same as last night.” There was better news elsewhere. Kim Little returned to action in the Champions League, while Frida Maanum could also be close to making her comeback.
“Kim was back last night, which was great to get her back onto the pitch,” Slegers said. “There might be a chance Frida Maanum makes it for the game as well. Daphne van Domselaar is getting closer and closer. Maybe a game too early.”
Chloe Kelly remains unavailable, with Arsenal continuing to assess her after a specialist appointment for the hamstring problem that has plagued her since the end of September. Slegers was unable to give a firm timescale there either. “It’s hard to set a clear timeline,” she said. “It’s still day-by-day, seeing how the symptoms are, what we can and can’t do, had a specialist appointment a couple of days ago. Let’s see where we go from here, but she’s not available for the weekend.”
For Reid, though, the latest setback is particularly difficult given that she had already worked her way back to first-team training after a year out. The ankle issue arrived at a stage when she had begun to rebuild match sharpness alongside her teammates. Arsenal will now focus on managing the recovery carefully ahead of a potential return after Christmas.
The defender’s progress had been closely watched after the ACL lay-off. Further assessments will determine the precise steps needed before she can resume full training. In the meantime, the rest of the squad continues to prepare for upcoming fixtures with the available options.
Alan Shearer - Arsenal - Myles Lewis-Skelly - Premier League
Alan Shearer - Arsenal - Myles Lewis-Skelly - Premier League
Arsenal