Alex Greenwood has ‘successful’ surgery following knee injury on Champions League duty with Manchester City

ALEX GREENWOOD has undergone an operation on a knee injury she suffered during Manchester City’s Champions League defeat of St Polten.

However the 96-capped England defender is set for lengthy spell out of action after having her medial collateral ligament (MCL) repaired.

Reuters

Man City say their medical team will work closely with Greenwood who sustained a knee injury this month[/caption]

Reuters

The Man City skipper was stretchered off during the first half of her team’s defeat of Austrian side St Polten in the Women’s Champions League group stage[/caption]

AFP

Man City finished second in their Champions League group after falling to a 3-0 loss to Barcelona on December 18[/caption]

Greenwood sustained her injury in the first half of her side’s 2-0 home win against their Austrian opponents in Europe on December 12.  

The Man City captain appeared to be in discomfort after going to ground following a collision with St Polten forward Melanie Brunnthaler.

She was later stretchered off in the 32nd minute. 

There were initial worries the defender, who has made nine WSL appearances so far this term, had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

However this morning her club confirmed she damaged her MCL – which is the tissue connecting the thigh bone to the shin bone.

While this usually involves a shorter period in recovery than an ACL injury it remains to be seen whether Greenwood will be fit ahead of England’s next set of international fixtures.

In February Sarina Wiegman’s side are due to face Portugal and Spain in the Nations League as part of their build-up to next summer’s European Championship.

And supporters will hope that Greenwood, who was part of the England squad that won the Women’s Euros two years ago, will be fit before the 2025 tournament in Switzerland.

Man City’s update follows their WSL team falling to a 3-0 loss to Barcelona on Wednesday.

Goals from Claudia Pina, Aitana Bonmati and Barca captain Alexia Puttellas resulted in the Catalan giants finishing top of Group D with City in second spot. 

The Cityzens’ second place finish means they could potentially face Arsenal, Chelsea or Lyon in the competition’s quarter-finals next year. 

The team, who are currently second in the WSL and six points off leaders, Chelsea will find out who their opponents will be after the draw on February 7. 

City are contending with a swathe of injuries with forwards Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp and Vivianne Miedema currently sidelined. 

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Vivianne Miedema hopes to be “fully recharged” and ready to make her Man City return in the new year[/caption]

And forward Chloe Kelly, who has faced a battle for minutes this term, was absent from the squad that faced Barcelona. 

City chief Gareth Taylor said this was due to “on-going symptoms” concerning concussion she sustained whilst on England duty in November. 

The Euros-winning Lioness star, whose current City contract runs until next summer, has started once in six top-flight appearances so far this season.