The only blight on an otherwise excellent day for Chelsea Women was the injury suffered by Nathalie Bjorn shortly after her introduction in the second half of the League Cup final. Sonia Bompastor has provided an update on the Swede, along with two of her fellow centre-backs.
Bjorn underwent surgery on her hamstring back in December and was only making her return to a matchday squad at Ashton Gate. Bompastor brought her on for Kadeisha Buchanan – herself starting for the first time since November 2024 – on the hour.
Unfortunately, Bjorn’s afternoon was cut short when she went down shortly after playing a pass. Bompastor confirmed it was a calf problem.
‘It was really sad for her,’ said our head coach.
‘It doesn’t look good. We need to assess her. We were all buzzing with Kadeisha starting and part of the plan was for Nat to come in and get some minutes. We will assess her, but it’s really sad.’
Bompastor does hope to be able to call upon the services of two other defenders soon, however, despite Naomi Girma and Millie Bright not being involved at Ashton Gate.
‘Naomi picked up a small injury in her calf,’ reported Bompastor. ‘Hopefully it’s not too bad and she can be available for the next game.
‘I don’t have a timeframe for Millie but I would like her to be available as soon as possible, hopefully for the weekend.
‘It’s crucial at this business end of the season to have all your players. You could see in a game like today when you have to bring fresh legs and different options into the game that it helps to have a big bench.’