<
>

Lyon's Ada Hegerberg out for up to nine months after ACL rupture

Lyon striker and inaugural Ballon d'Or Femenin winner Ada Hegerberg could be out for up to nine months after suffering a ruptured ACL in her right knee in training.

"So here it is. I ruptured my ACL this weekend. This is a setback for me, but I'm going to work through this with all my heart and my energy. The best is yet to come. YOU'LL SEE ME SOON," Hegerberg said on Twitter on Tuesday.

The club said in a statement an operating date would be confirmed in the coming days and her "unavailability will be consistent with known statistics for this type of injury."

Hegerberg was part of the team that beat Soyaux-Charente 4-0 at the weekend, scoring in the 10th minute.

Lyon -- who are defending their Division 1 Feminine title -- lead the league with nearest rivals Paris Saint-Germain three points behind.

The injury means that Hegerberg is also likely to miss all of Lyon's Champions League title defence.

Hegerberg scored nine goals in four Champions League games this season, but will miss Lyon's quarterfinal games against Bayern Munich on March 25 and April 1.

Her goals have helped Lyon with four straight Women's Champions League titles and five French league titles.

She won the inaugural women's Ballon d'Or award in 2018 as the world's best player and was widely praised for refusing a request to dance provocatively on stage at the ceremony in Paris.

Information from Associated Press was used in this report.