Leanne Crichton discusses menstrual cycle injury support

Many Scottish clubs will not be able to afford to respond to new research showing women footballers are more susceptible to injuries at certain times during their menstrual cycle, former Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton has warned.

A study at an unnamed English top-flight club showed players were six times more likely to pick up a muscle injury in the days leading up to their period.

Crichton, a coach with Motherwell in the SWPL, says it proves “something we have been aware of as players for some time”.

She told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland that information on menstrual cycles was gathered during her time with the national squad and Scottish champions Glasgow City.

But she added: “If you are at a part-time club, how do you collate this information?

“At Motherwell, we would love to have somebody in a full-time role to monitor players daily so we know what we are dealing with. But you need facilities, resources, medical staff that can oversee this and a lot of clubs do not have that.”