REPUBLIC OF IRELAND international Megan Campbell is in line to make her competitive debut for Liverpool this month after her latest injury setback.
The 28-year-old defender, who can play centre-back or left-back and is a long-throw specialist, has endured a nightmare run of injuries over the past few years, with her most recent blow an ankle one.
Campbell suffered ligament damage in a pre-season friendly against Celtic in August, shortly after signing for the Reds from Manchester City. She underwent surgery thereafter, with “no timescale set for her return” at the time.
The latest news is encouraging, The42 understands. The Drogheda native could get some minutes in Liverpool’s FA Cup game against Burnley on Sunday, 12 December, or three days later in the Continental Cup against Sunderland on Wednesday the 15th.
In manager Matt Beard’s latest column, published on 22 November, he noted that Cambpell was “a month ahead of schedule,” and it appears she remains firmly on track.
“It’s great to see Megan Campbell back training with us,” Beard wrote. “Our sports therapist Chris Underwood has done an unbelievable job with Megan, along with Hina Chauhan and the medical team.
“Megan has worked incredibly hard. I was desperately disappointed for her when she picked up the injury in pre-season. It was a tackle that shouldn’t have happened in a pre-season friendly but she has shown great professionalism.
“She has got her head down and worked incredibly hard every single day, and she is a month ahead of schedule because of that. Hopefully, we can get Megan potentially available for our matchday squad now for our final games of the year. This will be like a new signing for us and we are really excited to get Megan back.”
Campbell’s imminent return bodes well for the Girls In Green, too, for whom she holds over 40 caps. Her time with the squad in recent years has been limited due to injury, having played just once under Vera Pauw, in her first game in charge in October 2019. She has been restricted to punditry duty with RTÉ recently.
Meanwhile, Campbell’s Liverpool team-mate, Leanne Kiernan, is expected to make a swift club return, having been ruled out of Ireland’s recent World Cup qualifying double-header against Slovakia and Georgia.
“Slight hamstring tightness” sidelined the Cavan native after her blistering run of form with the Reds, though The42 understands she should be back in contention for December’s games, once all goes to plan this week.
Niamh Fahey is the third Irish player at Liverpool, linking up with the squad again after winning her 99th international cap in Tuesday’s 11-0 win over Georgia.
