Skinner’s team news for WSL opener

Thursday 08 September 2022 14:06

Manchester United Women’s head coach Marc Skinner says that summer signing Rachel Williams will miss our season opener at Tottenham on Saturday with a knee injury.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, Skinner was asked for an update on the Reds’ latest team news. 

Our head coach explained that Williams picked up a knee injury in a recent training session and will unfortunately miss the opening few weeks of the new campaign. 
“She went into a full-blooded tackle, as she does, and just hyper-extended her knee," he said. "Nothing too serious, she just needs a rest period.

“You’re probably looking at about three or four weeks and then she’ll be ready. 

“There’s no permanent damage, it’s just as Rachel Williams does, it’s the whole reason we signed her as well. Full-blooded into a tackle and just over-extended her knee at that point so she’s fine but she just needs a bit of time to heal. 

“We’re not in any rush, it’s going to be a long season so we’re going to make sure people peak at the right time.”
Ahead of the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Skinner also revealed that everyone is in training other than Williams and fellow summer recruit Adriana Leon, who is currently travelling back from Australia having represented Canada Down Under during the recent international break. 

The forward scored all three of her country's goals across the two wins, and is set to rejoin training on Friday, all being well. 

“Everyone’s trained, barring Adriana and Rach," added Skinner. 

“Adriana is on a flight back from Australia, where she was very successful out there, so those are the only players that won’t really be ready to feature today. 

“Adriana hopefully comes in tomorrow, is fresh and can hopefully be considered to be in the squad at the weekend.”

United Women international round-up

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Several members of Marc Skinner's squad were in action this week.

The majority of the Reds have returned to Carrington from representing their nations, with Skinner explaining that the full focus is now getting his team in the best position to approach Saturday’s game, following a tight turnaround from the international window.

“Today is about getting every player back on the same page so our training session today is same-page thinking," he stated. 

“I always do that after an international appearance, so they get back into our principles, there’s no question about how we’re going to play. 

“I just need to make sure that I pick the most effective team for the freshness, sharpness, going into this game and I’m sure Rehanne [Skinner, Tottenham head coach] will do the same.”

You can secure your seat at every United Women home game in 2022/23, including our Old Trafford fixture against Aston Villa, with tickets available here.

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