Little injury a big blow

HAD all gone according to plan, Kim Little would have played her first Spring Series game for Arsenal today against a Manchester City team including Jen Beattie and Jane Ross.

Sadly, almost nothing about Scotland’s preparations for the Euros has gone according to plan. Arsenal’s statement on Thursday, that their star midfielder had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament on the training field, was a devastating blow to the club, and to Scotland’s chances of competing well in the Netherlands, but above all to the player herself.

The midfielder has never had the opportunity to showcase her exceptional skills on the world or European stages. She did play for Team GB at the London Olympics, but football isn’t a central plank of the Olympiad. To have come so close to qualifying with Scotland before – notably for Euro 2013 – and to now be ruled out of making that historic first appearance must be heartbreaking.

Little’s injury follows a similar one to Hibernian’s Lizzie Arnot which also happened on the training ground, while Arsenal left-back Emma Mitchell is very much touch and go as she recovers from a hamstring injury.

But it’s not just injuries. Anna Signeul is having headaches with selection issues also with today’s game at the Academy Stadium encapsulating her woes. Beattie and Ross have been sidelined by Manchester City for big games, with neither playing in the Champions League semi-finals against Lyon, and Ross wasn’t even on the bench for the FA Cup final win against Birmingham. Hopefully the pair will return to the side against Arsenal.