Danielle Van de Donk ‘never been prouder’ after making return from knee injury | OneFootball

London City Lionesses midfielder Danielle Van de Donk finally made her debut for the club over the weekend, after months on the sideline with a knee injury.

The Dutch star moved to London in summer but her first appearance had to wait until 2026.

Danielle Van de Donk makes Lionesses debut

London City Lionesses have been waiting for Danielle Van de Donk to make her debut for six months.

The midfielder joined from Lyon in summer where she spent four years building an impressive CV.

Before she moved to France in 2021 Van de Donk made 140 appearances for Arsenal, winning three major titles.

After spending over half the season in the treatment room, Van de Donk finally made her return to action in the FA Cup over the weekend.

The 34-year-old made her debut in the FA Cup as London City Lionesses edged past Sunderland and into the fifth round.

Speaking after the game, Van de Donk flooded with pride over her long-awaited return to the pitch.

“I’ve never been more proud of myself,” said Van de Donk. “No one really knows what happened because that was my choice, but I had many setbacks and it wasn’t easy at all. But I’m even more proud and happy to be back.

“I really want to be on the pitch. Before [signing for the club] I was very much in debate if I could continue playing football and then this opportunity came around the corner and I was like: ‘OK, well, I can go 100% for that but it’s going to be very hard with my body to be able to do anything.’ But yes, I don’t know, it’s just like resilience or something.”

After making her return in the cup, Van de Donk will be hoping to make her first appearance in the WSL for over five years.

London City Lionesses struggling for form

London City Lionesses have been a revelation in the WSL this season. The newly-promoted side were flying before Christmas, but the surprise sacking of Jocelyn Precheur flipped their campaign on its head.

Precheur was fired during the winter break and the Lionesses have been disappointing since.

The independent women’s side kicked off 2026 with a 0-0 draw against relegation threatened Liverpool, before narrowly beating Sunderland to advance in the FA Cup.

A difficult fixture schedule doesn’t get much easier for the Lionesses in the coming weeks. Eder Maestre’s side welcome Manchester City to Hayes Lane next weekend, as they look to pick up their first league win of the year against the toughest possible opposition.