Putellas, 29, missed last year’s European Championship in England with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

The Barca player was out for nine months but that didn’t stop her from retaining the Ballon d’Or and the Best FIFA Women’s Player award before returning to the pitch in April.

Putellas took part in Barca’s recent Women’s Champions League title and appears to be arriving in fine form for the World Cup tournament.

But she is one of the lucky ones.

Defending champions USA will be without Mallory Swanson with a torn patellar tendon in her left knee, while midfielder Catarina Macario will be behind with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

European champions England will be without star striker Beth Mead and captain Leah Williamson, both also recovering from serious knee injuries.

Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema has also been out since December with the same knee injury.

France’s ambitions have been shattered by the loss of Delphine Cascarino, the best player in the French league last season, due to a partial tear in the knee ligaments. And prolific striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto was not called up after missing the entire season with another knee injury.

And the Canadian Olympic champions are deprived of Janine Beckie, former Manchester City player and currently Portland Thorns.

various factors

The World Cup loses a certain luster without these players, since this multiplication of injuries has sparked an internal debate on the cause of them.

“It’s an injury that can depend on a lot of things,” Putellas explained in an interview with FIFPro.

“Quite recently, women have started to be professionals in this sport and we really haven’t had the time to do this type of study and to know a little more about the body of a footballer,” adds she.

But women weren’t suddenly made vulnerable to serious knee injuries.

“The fact that women are more at risk than men when playing football has long been known,” Gordon Mackay, a Scottish knee surgeon, told AFP.

“It’s multifactorial, but there are a lot of things that contribute to risk factors,” she says, citing the need to train on proper surfaces as well as having footwear designed specifically for women.

Mackay estimated that the incidence of cruciate ligament tears in female soccer players was “four to six months higher” than in their male counterparts, indicating that the shape of the pelvis was another deciding factor.

Hormonal changes due to the menstrual cycle have also often been mentioned as a cause.

Thus, the strategy is based more on prevention. A recent study by researchers in England suggests that kits, balls and boots should be designed specifically for women to increase their safety.

Sportswear giant Adidas, a leading supplier of kits for World Cup teams, says it takes the issue “incredibly seriously”.

The brand assures AFP that its products are made for women, “from the idea to the tests”.

“Hard to Take”

This Women’s World Cup will be the first to feature 32 teams, proof of the continued growth of women’s football in recent years.

For the players themselves, the physical pain of the injury is compounded by the moral pain of not being able to participate in the event.

“It’s hard to see all the excitement around the tournament,” Beckie admitted to Canadian radio TSN 690.

“I’m very excited for the tournament and for all these players who have this platform as a showcase to show off their talent, but at the same time, it’s hard to assume that I won’t be there,” she concluded.