Hello my friends, It’s been a minute since I’ve written about Spurs Women. It’s been depressing following Spurs and depressing living in the United States of America, and I have to admit it got the better of me. I was gearing up to come back with a season recap article and some squad building thoughts, and I will get to that eventually. But unfortunately, the cruel hand of chance intervened, and I now have to bring you this news instead—our promising young fullback Ella Morris has injured her ACL during her first England call up.
Ella Morris in action. I am simply devastated.
Photo by Richard Pelham – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
According to reports, Ella will now return to Tottenham for surgery and rehab. It’s Ella’s second ACL injury—the first came in March of 2020, also while on international duty. It’s fair to say she came back stronger from her first, but there’s no doubt she has a long road ahead of her.
Ella Morris arrived at Spurs ahead of the 2024-25 season. She was touted as a highly-rated youth prospect, but she managed to break into the first team and then the starting lineup over the course of the season. Her excellent work stood out in a squad where many of the other players were stagnating or regressing. The fact that she supplanted Amanda Nildén (a player who I think is quite good!) for her starting spot says it all. Ella’s first England call up felt like the cherry on top of all that excellent work. It’s a cruel twist of fate she won’t get to enjoy that honor.
Ella’s injury leaves Spurs Women with even more uncertainty going into next season. We’ve already got a squad with gaping holes coming off the back of an 11th place finish (out of 12, if you’re new here), assistant coach Vicky Jepson is on her way to coach in the United States, and Emma Sanders recently reported that Spurs are looking into sacking manager Robert Vilahamn. Ella was one of about five or six nailed on starters (by my judgment, the others are Lize Kop, Ash Neville, Molly Bartrip, Eveliina Summanen, and Beth England). Losing a player for the season who could’ve been part of that backbone? It’s a huge blow.
I’ll do my best to end on a high note. ACL rehab times are constantly improving, and Ella will have the full support of both Spurs and England as she recovers. She’s still so young, and I’d expect a 22 year old to have a much faster recovery timeline than, say, a 30 year old. Who knows? We may see her before the end of the season. But in the end, it’s important she takes all the time she needs to come back right–she isn’t a player who is overly reliant on pace and acceleration, so I’m hopeful she’ll come back even stronger.
Sending my best thoughts to Ella. We’re with you and we can’t wait to see you back on the pitch!