BETH Mead finally made her return to the pitch on Sunday after 330 days on the sidelines and is working towards her Lionesses return.
Beth Mead tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) back in November 2022 against Manchester United.
Arsenal met with Aston Villa on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium where she came on as a substitute in the 88th minute.
Mead helped turn the game, converting it from an almost 1-0 loss to a 2-1 win, assisting Alessia Russo to the win.
Mead spoke to BBC Sport about her return – “I got a bit emotional running on the pitch but it is amazing to be back, so amazing.”
Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall also spoke out on her return to the pitch – “It’s been incredibly tough for her, its nice to see her on the pitch and seeing her able to perform straight away.”
Despite returning to the pitch less than a year after her injury, her position with the Lionesses is in question for their upcoming games in the Nations League.
With Mead being out of the Lionesses squad for the last 11 months, it has paved the way for other Lionesses to shine in the winger position, for example, Lauren James, who certainly stepped up at the World Cup this summer.
Mead could grab more minutes under her belt against Bristol City on Sunday 22nd but that will be too late to grab herself a spot in the squad.
It is unknown whether Mead will make a return to the squad being released today at 4:15pm but if she is not, Mead is prepared to fight for her spot.
Later this month, the Lionesses play against Belgium, both home and away and the Arsenal forward hopes to be there.
If Mead misses out on this call up, there is another opportunity to represent her country in December against the Netherlands and Scotland.
Mead whilst speaking to goal.com said – “Hopefully I get the chance to speak to Sarina at some point in the next few days and we will go from there.”
