'We owed it to the next generation' - Arsenal star Beth Mead opens up on ACL injury recovery documentary alongside team-mate and partner Vivianne Miedema

The Arsenal duo recently battled their way back to fitness after sustaining ACL tears last year. They recently featured in a documentary released by the Gunners where the players share anecdotes from their experiences of suffering such a serious injury and how they recovered from the setback.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Mead revealed that they felt important to spread awareness regarding ACL injuries, which is quite prevalent among women footballers.

The striker, sitting alongside her partner said, "We felt important to kind of share our journey, make everyone a little bit more aware of what that journey looks like. If we could kind of figure out a little more as to why it's happening or the factors that go towards it happening or is there anything that we can do within the game to present it? At least minimise the risk of ACL injuries.

"There's been quite a pandemic of this specific injury so we owed it to the next generation to try and figure out a better solution, a better plan that could minimise the risk of this nasty injury."

According to a report from Sky Sports, women footballers are six times more likely to sustain ACL injuries compared to men. Female footballers are also 25 per cent less likely to fully recover and return from such injuries.

In recent times, women's football has been plagued with ACL injuries with several big names being ruled out of action due to knee problems.

Since her return to action, the 28-year-old has made seven Women's Super League appearances where he scored thrice for her club. She will be next seen in action after the winter break when Arsenal face Watford in a FA WSL Cup clash on January 14.