Leicester City forward Jess Sigsworth has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign after suffering an ACL injury.

Manager Lydia Bedford confirmed that the 27-year-old sustained the injury in training, and will undergo an operation in the coming weeks.

Sigsworth joined Leicester from Manchester United in the summer ahead of their maiden season in the WSL, bringing a wealth of top-flight experience to the Foxes‘ promotion-winning squad. She has chipped in with two goals an assist in the WSL this season, and will be a big miss in Leicester’s battle to avoid the drop.

„Unfortunately last week in training Jess Sigsworth suffered an ACL injury and will be out for the remainder of the season,“ Bedford said ahead of Leicester’s FA Cup clash with Chelsea on Saturday. „She will hopefully be getting an operation in the coming weeks which is really disappointing for her and obviously the club are behind her in her recovery.“

Sigsworth is no stranger to ACL injuries, having suffered the same injury in the opposite knee while at Doncaster in 2016.

„The priority with Jess is the operation first of all and the recovery from that and the rehab,“ Bedford added. „We’ll very much work on keeping Jess a part of the squad, but ultimately our focus needs to turn to the players who are 100% able to influence us this season.

„I think Jess is a really level headed individual who’s taken the news really well, in her stride at this moment in time. She’s a really positive character and she’s been here before. So she knows what she’s up against and is confident that she’ll come back stronger.“

Leicester have pulled away from the relegation zone since the appointment of Bedford in November. The Foxes have put together a fine run of form under their new manager to leave themselves eight points clear of bottom side Birmingham.