Holland to be assessed in hospital after leaving field on stretcher

BBC News

04-04-2025

Wales midfielder Ceri Holland will be assessed in hospital after leaving the field on a stretcher in Wales 2-1 Nations League defeat to Denmark at the Cardiff City Stadium.Holland received treatment for close to 10 minutes and was taken straight to hospital with her right leg in a protective boot after a heavy collision.Holland scored Wales' goal and was their player of the match as they performed admirably against Denmark with boss Rhian Wilkinson admitting the injury is a concern."I don't know. It looked like a really big tackle. We are hoping for a bone bruise, but we don't know anything at this point so we won't speculate," Wilkinson said."She has gone to hospital to get checked out and is with our fabulous medical team."She was excellent tonight. She has been for the last few games. She gives everything and puts her body on the line. We hope it is just one of those that hurt a lot. Fingers crossed that is what it will be."
Holland was in tears as she was stretchered off."I saw the tackle quickly on my Ipad, to me it looked like two women fully committed to a tackle," Wilkinson added."We will make sure we get updates as soon as possible. I am concerned, of course."But I don't want us to be guessing. She was obviously in a lot of pain and discomfort. We don't know anything at this time. We will deal with it when we know."Former Wales international Nia Jones told Match of the Day Wales that Holland's injury overshadowed the whole game."I am sure Rhian Wilkinson will say there's plenty to take from that game but it's really difficult to look beyond what happened to Ceri Holland," she said."We are all hoping it's not as bad as it looked."Wales international Sophie Ingle, who is currently sidelined after ACL surgery, says Holland is a vital component in the Wales side."She is such a key player for us. She's on the trajectory of being really strong and always being a starter," Ingle told Match of the Day Wales."It didn't look nice. It was contact. I didn't really see a twist or anything."Sometimes it is better if it's straight contact but the fact she was upset and stayed down is not like her. She usually gets up pretty much straight away."
Wilkinson said she was a "proud coach," after a performance where Wales again went toe-to-toe with a nation ranked far higher than them in world football, with Denmark ranked 12th and Wales 31st.Wales might have led moments before Denmark scored their winning goal as Hannah Cain missed a big chance and Wilkinson says the experience can only help her side."I've always said results are one measure. The other is a commitment to playing in a way we can be proud of," she added."I can look at these women and see them going toe-to-toe with these top nations."Not long ago losing 2-1 to Denmark would have been seen as a positive result. But we've come away feeling we missed a chance and they scored a chance. I think probably Denmark deserved the three points… but we went for it and we can only be proud of the performance."