Adam RafaelAlisha Lehmann scored her 10th international goal as Switzerland thrashed Malta 4-1 on Saturday 21 March 2026, yet the world's most-followed female footballer faces a very different battle at club level: Leicester City sit bottom of the Women's Super League. Her story has reignited a conversation that sports medicine doctors have been trying to start for years — the specific health and injury challenges facing women who play football at any level.
The Alisha Lehmann story in 2026: success and struggle in parallel
On 22 January 2026, Lehmann completed a return to the WSL by signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Leicester City, having spent five months with Como Women in Italy. The 25-year-old Swiss international brings 16 million Instagram followers and genuine goalscoring form. But Leicester are rooted to the bottom of the table, with the club's survival in the top flight far from assured.
What makes Lehmann's situation medically interesting is not the pressure — it is the physical profile of a player who has now competed continuously in women's football across three different leagues in under two years. Swiss league, Italian Serie A Femminile, the WSL. Different pitches, different intensity levels, different training loads. Doctors who specialise in women's sports health say this kind of movement is exactly when injury risk spikes.
Why women's football carries distinct physical risks
Women's football has grown dramatically: over 30 million registered female players globally as of 2025, according to FIFA. But the medical infrastructure around the women's game has lagged behind. Research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has consistently shown that female footballers face a two-to-six times higher risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury than their male counterparts — a disparity that scientists now link to hormonal fluctuations, biomechanical differences, and, critically, lower access to sports medicine support.
The numbers are striking. A 2024 UEFA study found that professional women's teams had, on average, one physiotherapist per 18 players, compared to one per 7 players in the men's game. At semi-professional and amateur level, women often train and compete with no medical support at all.
This is not abstract risk. At the 2026 WSL season's midpoint, multiple clubs have reported higher-than-usual injury rates among their squads — and while the data for women's football is still catching up to the men's game, the pattern is clear.
The four injuries that most affect female footballers
Sports medicine specialists highlight these as the injuries most commonly seen in women who play football regularly, from elite level down to Sunday league:
ACL tears: The anterior cruciate ligament is the most discussed injury in women's football. Landing mechanics, the influence of oestrogen on ligament laxity, and quad-to-hamstring strength imbalances all contribute. Prevention programmes (such as the FIFA 11+) can reduce ACL injury rates by up to 50% — but require consistent implementation.
Stress fractures: Particularly in the foot and tibia. Female athletes who combine high training loads with inadequate nutrition face a significantly elevated risk, especially if relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) is a factor.
Ankle sprains: The most common injury in football regardless of gender, but women show higher rates of chronic ankle instability following initial sprains — suggesting under-treatment and insufficient rehabilitation before return to play.
Concussion: Heading frequency, contact dynamics, and — increasingly — evidence that women may experience longer concussion recovery times than men has led UK football authorities to tighten heading restrictions in training. Any player who takes a head knock should be assessed by a medical professional before returning to play.
What Lehmann's high-profile case tells amateur players
Elite players like Lehmann have access to physiotherapists, nutritionists, and team doctors as a matter of course. Amateur and recreational female footballers typically do not. Yet the bodies involved are dealing with the same biomechanical stresses, often on less well-maintained pitches, after less structured warm-ups, and with less recovery time.
The three most evidence-based things any female footballer can do to protect herself:
Warm up properly, every time. The FIFA 11+ programme takes 20 minutes and reduces injury risk across all categories by a clinically meaningful margin. It is free and requires no equipment.
Do not play through pain. Women in sport have historically been more likely to continue training through discomfort to avoid appearing weak or being dropped. Any pain that persists beyond 48 hours after a match warrants medical attention.
Get a baseline assessment before the season. A sports medicine consultation before the season starts can identify muscle imbalances, previous injuries that have not fully healed, and nutritional deficiencies — all of which compound during a long campaign.
When to see a sports medicine specialist
There is a cultural barrier in women's sport around seeking help. Lehmann's personal brand — combining athletic excellence with unapologetic self-expression — has, in a small way, helped normalise talking about the physical demands of the women's game. But a Foxes legend warning publicly this week that Leicester must "focus on survival" rather than off-field profile points to a tension familiar to any woman who has ever felt her health concerns dismissed in a sporting environment.
A sports medicine specialist, or a general practitioner with sports health experience, can help with: diagnosing and treating acute injuries, designing strength and conditioning programmes specific to female physiology, advising on nutrition and recovery, and assessing whether pain after a fall or collision is serious.
If you play football — or any team sport — and have concerns about an injury or want a baseline fitness assessment, an ExpertZoom health specialist can offer an initial consultation without a long GP waiting list.
YMYL disclaimer: This article contains general health information for educational purposes. It does not constitute medical advice. If you have sustained an injury, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
