New research highlights how menstruation affects injuries in women's football

The study monitored all of England's international female teams over four years

Players; shadows at a WSL match Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Female footballers may be more than twice as likely to suffer muscle and tendon injuries in the days preceding ovulation, according to the first study of its type into injury incidence across the menstrual cycle.

The research has also identified initial evidence that injury risk may be elevated in the days after an athlete is 'overdue', ie when the next menstruation was expected to start.