West Ham defender Shelina Zadorsky undergoes ankle surgery | OneFootball

West Ham’s Shelina Zadorsky has begun her rehabilitation process after the West Ham defender had to have surgery on her ankle.

The Canadian pulled up lame after a bad tackle in training last month and made the quick decision to undergo surgery.

Who is Shelina Zadorsky?

Shelina Zadorsky has been at West Ham for two years now. The defender initially joined in January 2024 on a season-long loan from Tottenham.

The Hammers put pen to paper on a permanent deal just six months later after a successful second half of the season for Zadorsky across London.

After just under two years at the club, the 33-year-old has become a fan favourite with West Ham and she has even been named vice-captain for some games in the past season.

The defender is one of West Ham’s most experienced stars in their back line. Zadorsky has racked up 100 international appearances for Canada and she is still going strong for her country.

There isn’t yet any confirmed timeline on how long Zadorsky will be out of action for, but with the veteran centre-back undergoing surgery her return is expected to be at least a few months away.

The good news for West Ham and their injured star is that the winter break is now here. With the WSL not returning until January 10th, Zadorsky has a month to recover over the hiatus.

West Ham in relegation battle

When their defender returns next year, there is no doubt that West Ham will still be in a relegation battle.

The Hammers are lacking well behind most in the league with Liverpool the only team below them in the WSL.

There are only two points separating the sides as we head into the new year and it is certainly hard to call who will go down, especially after the clubs drew with each other last weekend.

Only one side will get relegated at the end of this year as the WSL expands 14 teams. The club that finishes bottom of the league will face off with whoever finishes third in the Championship in a playoff game that will decide the 14th team in the top flight.