ACL injuries are keeping stars out of the Women’s World Cup

By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer

Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema and England’s Leah Williamson are among the stars of women’s soccer who won’t be playing in the World Cup. Both players have been ruled out because of ACL injuries. And they’re not the only ones. Canada’s Janine Beckie and rising U.S. star Catarina Macario are also sidelined in what feels like an epidemic of damaged knees. Studies have shown that women are up to eight times more likely to sustain anterior cruciate ligament injuries in sports like soccer and basketball than their male counterparts.