Reading face a nervous wait to learn of the extent of the injury sustained by full-back Emma Mitchell whilst playing for Scotland against Portugal in Lisbon last night.
The 28-year-old defender was replaced by Nicola Docherty at the break at the Estadio do Restelo after sustaining what looked to be a hamstring injury towards the end of the half. Mitchell initially tried to soldier on but it soon became clear that she would be unable to do so as the half came to an end.
Scotland went on to crash to a 1-0 defeat with Ana Borges scoring the winning goal for the hosts 21 minutes from time. Shelley Kerr’s side are now four points adrift of a UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 play-off place and face a ‘must win’ game against group leaders Finland at Easter Road in Edinburgh on Tuesday evening, a game in which they are likely to have to cope without the services of Reading defender Mitchell.
Reading will be hoping that Mitchell’s injury is not too severe with The Royals facing three more Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixtures before the Christmas break. Reading take on both Bristol City and Manchester United at home before travelling to Brighton & Hove Albion. Manager Kelly Chambers does not boast the biggest of squads in the top flight and will be keen to avoid too many injuries this year.
Since joining Reading in the summer, Mitchell has featured in all 10 of the club’s matches in all competitions with nine of those outings coming as starts. She joined the Berkshire club following a period in which regular football was hard to come by at former side Arsenal.
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