Vivianne Miedema may make her return to the Manchester Metropolis squad for his or her FA Cup fourth-round tie on Sunday after a three-month harm absence.
Miedema has been out of motion since October 9 as a result of a knee harm that required surgical procedure, preserving her out of motion.
The Netherlands worldwide, who left Arsenal as a free agent on the finish of final season, has made simply 5 appearances for Metropolis in all competitions, managing simply two targets.
Metropolis play third-tier Ipswich City within the FA Cup on Sunday, however Miedema’s return has come at a vital time, with the Manchester derby subsequent up for Gareth Taylor’s aspect within the Girls’s Tremendous League.
Whereas Taylor does nonetheless produce other harm points on the high of the pitch, he’s delighted so as to add Miedema, who’s the all-time main scorer within the WSL, again to his ranks.
“We’ve got Viv again, which is an actual constructive,” Taylor stated. “We’re not going to have the ability to go straight into it along with her. We’re gonna must construct her again up.
“To have Viv again is unbelievable as a result of we all know what a high participant she is and what an affect she has on others. Simply by being on the market, she actually helps different gamers carry out even higher.
“She’s simply acquired that expertise, and she or he offers a lot time and area to different gamers, in addition to being actually high quality in herself. It’s good to have her again.
Again dwelling
Right now’s coaching pic.twitter.com/SBrE2MDRx4
— Manchester Metropolis Girls (@ManCityWomen) January 10, 2025
“Another gamers can be barely longer, perhaps Bunny [Khadija Shaw] – clearly Lauren [Hemp] and Alex [Greenwood], as we’re conscious of – however Bunny was with us final week [at the Abu Dhabi training camp], which was good.
“She was out coaching individually, however from what I noticed, she appeared actually good, she feels actually good, so we’ll see what that appears like for her.
“Whether or not we are able to get her again on this subsequent interval or not, we’ll see, however hopefully we are able to, as a result of, once more, just like what we’re saying about Viv and Alex, they’re actually influential gamers.”
Taylor additionally admitted that there was “nothing actually to report” on Chloe Kelly’s contract state of affairs, or a possible January transfer for the winger.
Kelly’s present deal is about to expire on the finish of this season, and she or he has made simply three begins for Metropolis in all competitions, struggling to nail down a spot within the beginning line-up.
Solely a kind of begins got here within the WSL, wherein she has performed simply 165 minutes in whole and didn’t register a aim involvement.
“Chloe was with us final week,” he added. “She appeared actually sharp. She appeared contemporary, [with] renewed vitality and optimism for this era.
“However at this second in time, there’s no information on any sort of offers in any respect, so whereas that occurs, she’s our participant, she’s part of the crew, part of the squad.”
