Vivianne Miedema opens up on 'most challenging recovery so far' as Man City ace battles back from knee surgery

The 28-year-old has been battling a chronic knee injury all year and has only made three league appearances for City since joining the club from WSL rivals Arsenal in the summer. Clearly, the time spent on the sidelines has taken its toll, with the Dutch international sharing a lengthy Instagram post detailing the struggles she's faced in recovering and getting back to full fitness.

Miedema was also out of action for most of 2023 due to an ACL injury, so her frustration at further setbacks is understandable. She recently had an operation designed to fix the persistent knee problems she's experienced at both City and Arsenal (where she spent seven seasons before making the switch to Manchester), which have consistently restricted her game time and heartbreakingly led her to miss the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Posting on Instagram, Miedema said: "Last game day of 2024. another year where i wished i could’ve played a bit more football but at least this season has shown me I’ve not completely forgotten how to play and enjoy it. i’ve often tried to share how i feel through rehab and while being injured but this time it has been pretty difficult to do so. mentally and physically this recovery has been the most challenging one so far. i’m not fully there yet, but we’re getting close again and hopefully in 2025, I’ll get to be out on the grass a lot more again." She added: "Time for the Christmas break soon & hopefully I’ll be fully recharged and ready in the new year 🎅🏼🩵"

City boss Gareth Taylor recently revealed that while Miedema is not likely to feature in any of the club's remaining fixtures of 2024, they expect to see her back on the pitch early in the New Year. The WSL title challengers are in European action on Wednesday night with a mouth-watering trip to Catalonia for a Champions League clash against Barcelona.