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England captain Leah Williamson will not be playing at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer, after suffering an injury playing for her WSL squad Arsenal.

The defender fell to the ground in the first half of Arsenal's game against Manchester United on Thursday, which they lost 0-1.

She had hurt her ACL, which stands for anterior cruciate ligament - it's inside your knee, and joins your thigh to your shin.

It's a serious injury which can take a long time to recover from.

Williamson said: "The noise around the situation is loud and I need some quiet time to let it all sink in".

She continued: "Unfortunately the World Cup and Champions League dream is over for me and everyone will think that is the main focus, but it's the day to day of what I am about to go through that is the most draining of my thoughts.

"I had my tears and made my peace with it the night it happened and since then I have been following the steps I'm told to, in order to best help myself in the sport and long term."

Arsenal said she would have surgery "in due course".

She's not the only Lioness to have suffered this injury recently.

Beth Mead, who was the team's top scorer in the 2022 Euros, is also expected to be missing the World Cup because of an injured ACL.

Williamson has already received lots of support on social media, with the England national team responding on Instagram: "You'll come back stronger than ever."

Team-mate Beth Mead said on Twitter: "We are with you every step of the way, even if I have to be quiet some days in rehab.

"We got you girl, all the love and strength in the world."