'Progressing well' - Arsenal 'hope' to have Lionesses captain Leah Williamson back before Christmas as England star continues recovery from injury sustained at Euro 2025

Williamson picked up the issue during the Euros in Switzerland this past summer and though she was able to power through and complete the tournament, captaining her country to a second successive European crown, she needed to have a small clean-up operation in August to address it. That ruled her out of the start of Arsenal's 2025-26 season, which has began in rather up-and-down fashion. The Gunners have three wins, two draws and two defeats from their first seven outings.

There has never been a specific timeline put on Williamson's return by Slegers, nor by England boss Sarina Wiegman, who had to leave her captain out of her first squad post-Euros this week due to the injury. However, the Arsenal head coach offered some more detail on her progress on Wednesday, ahead of the Gunners' Champions League clash with Benfica.

"She's progressing well," Slegers said. "She did her first session on pitch yesterday, which was good. Exact timeline, we'll have to see day by day, week by week, but we hope to see her back before Christmas. That will be great. But then everything has to go to plan."

Some of Arsenal's biggest games before the winter break include a Women's Super League clash with Chelsea, on November 8; Champions League fixtures against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, on November 12 and November 19, respectively; plus the north London derby, away at Tottenham, on November 16.

The silver lining of Williamson's absence has come in the form of Katie Reid, the 19-year-old who Williamson has waxed lyrical about on many occasions in the past. Reid is now living up to that billing, having slotted into her right centre-back role in the Arsenal team and thrived so much that she actually won her first senior England call-up this week, amid the absence of Williamson and Millie Bright's decision to call time on her international career.

"It's a joy to play next to her," Emily Fox, the Gunners' right-back, said of Reid on Tuesday. "It's so easy, just in a sense that she does her role so well and makes my job easier. I think she just has so many capabilities and strengths, defensively and in the attack, in terms of her composure and ball control. In some ways, we're not surprised that she got the call-up. She's been playing so well, stepped up into the role really well."

How the Arsenal team looks when Williamson is back will be interesting, given Steph Catley has been playing so well in the other centre-back role while also offering the left-footedness that balances out the Gunners' back line.

For now, though, Arsenal can enjoy Reid's good form and the fact that they have the experienced Lotte Wubben-Moy, who has been part of England's last three major tournament squads, also battling for that role. Slegers will have to pick between the two on Thursday as the Gunners continue their Champions League title defence away at Benfica.

On the England front, while Williamson remains out and Bright is no longer available for selection, Reid joins a stacked list of centre-back options that also includes Wubben-Moy, Alex Greenwood, Jess Carter, Esme Morgan and Maya Le Tissier. The Lionesses will take on Brazil on October 25, in Manchester, and Australia on October 28, in Derby, in a pair of friendlies that fans will hope includes some rotation and experimentation. If that does turn out to be the case, given how well Reid has been playing, the teenager could be in line for a debut.