Hannah Hampton, England, and Chelsea's no. 1 keeper could be ruled out till next year.
Sonia Bompastor announced today, ahead of the Chelsea fixture against Liverpool this weekend, that she has a quad injury. She suffered this injury last weekend against Arsenal, and the club was still assessing her, so she was therefore ruled out of Chelsea's Champions League trip to Austria, where they beat St Polten 6-0.
However she is now going to be out for a few weeks, and it’s unclear whether she’ll return before the end of the year.
This is bad news for both Chelsea and England: the Blues face their arch-nemesis, Barcelona, at the Bridge next Thursday. At the same time, England has two international friendlies against China and Ghana at the end of the month.
Hannah has started all of Chelsea WSL games, she has only not played in the Champions League against Twente (rotation) and St Polten due to these injuries. She has 86.2% saves this WSL season and has kept four clean sheets. Her pass completion is 81.1% and she is known for her precise long balls.
This will be a test of Chelsea depth not just in the keeper department but across the pitch for players to dig deep in defence, especially against Barcelona, whom they have never beaten at home.
Livia Peng who joined over the summer will be throw into the deep end only playing two games so far this season with her first WSL game and the mighty European powers of Barcelona. Though during the Euros, Peng did save Alexia Putellas penalty, so she will take the confidence into the Thursday game.
Hampton has been a key figure for club and country last season She played Every minute, conceded only 13 goals, kept 13 clean sheets, and shared the Golden Glove in the WSL.
For England she was one of their stars she played all the games made 17 saved crucial ones in the penalty shootout in the final from the likes of Astana Bonmati. She has 11 clean sheets over her England career, most recently a 3-0 win against Australia.
With this in mind her absence is and will have a massive impact. For Chelsea Losing her, even temporarily, is a blow. She’s not just a shot-stopper but helps build from the back. Her injury opens the door for Peng to step in. Bompastor has said she’s confident in Peng, but losing Hampton’s quality and experience is not trivial.
For Sarina Wiegman and England when Hampton had a minor injury and Khiara Keating stepped up it ended badly with a 2-1 defeat to Brazil. Though Anna Moorhouse could and should get her chance as a much better keeper, more experienced than Keating.
Hampton’s form was peak coming off a Euro win where she was critical. Her absence could disrupt continuity, especially in crucial friendlies or preparation matches.
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