GiveMeSport
·5 April 2023
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsGiveMeSport
·5 April 2023
Melanie Leupolz shared an update of the nose injury she sustained during Chelsea’s quarter-final encounter against Lyon in the Women’s Champions League.
It was a memorable evening for the Blues, who secured a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over defending champions Lyon.
Chelsea will now play Barcelona in the semi-finals, with the two legs scheduled to take place on April 22 and 27 respectively.
GiveMeSport VIDEO OF THE DAY
Pause
Unmute
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 8:10
Loaded: 1.01%
But the game against Lyon will be unforgettable for Leupolz for a very different reason. The midfielder, who recently returned to football after giving birth to her first child, had her nose broken during the match.
The incident happened in the 64th minute, when Lyon player Daniëlle van de Donk accidentally hit Leupolz across the face as they both jumped for the ball.
The Chelsea star fell to the ground clutching her head, but the referee did not immediately stop the game.
When the match was eventually brought to a halt, Leupolz lifted her head to reveal her face was covered in blood.
There was then a lengthy stoppage in play as the Chelsea medical team cleaned Leupolz’s face up and stopped the bleeding from her nose, before she was substituted off for Sophie Ingle.
Despite the injury, Leupolz still travelled to Germany for the international break, with the national team confirming that she had broken her nose.
Leupolz gave an update on her injury on her Instagram Story, revealing she had undergone a procedure to fix her nose.
The 28-year-old shared a picture of herself with a bandage over her nose, with the caption: “Fixed”.
Leupolz will be able to take part in national team training depending on the healing process, but will likely have to wear a custom-made face mask.
It is her first time with the Germany squad since November 2021, having missed out on the country's run to the Euro 2022 final due to pregnancy. She gave birth in October 2022, before returning to the pitch during Chelsea's match against Liverpool in January.
Leupolz could feature for Germany against the Netherlands on April 7, or against Brazil on April 11. She will be hoping to earn a place in her country's squad for the Women's World Cup, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand this summer.