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Mary Fowler's return overshadowed by horrible incident after withdrawal from Matildas games

The Australian star is back in action for Manchester City, but the English club have now lost Alex Greenwood.

Mary Fowler's return for Manchester City has been overshadowed by a serious injury to captain Alex Greenwood, with football fans left devastated for the English star. Fowler and fellow Matildas player Alanna Kennedy helped City defeat St Polten in the women's Champions League on Thursday night to maintain top spot in Group D.

It was Fowler's second win in two games since returning to action following her decision to withdraw from the Matildas' recent friendlies against Brazil and Chinese Taipei to prioritise her physical and mental health. The break appears to have done the trick, with Fowler scoring a cracking goal earlier this week in the Super League and following it up with another solid performance on Wednesday night.

Mary Fowler and Alex Greenwood.
Mary Fowler's return for Manchester City has been marred by an injury to Alex Greenwood. Image: Getty/FIFA

But her successful return was overshadowed when Greenwood went down with a horrible-looking injury against St Polten. The England defender went down in obvious pain during the first half and was clutching her left knee. She covered her face with her shirt as she was carried off the field on a stretcher.

City will be hoping the injury isn't as bad as it looked, but there are fears she might have done her ACL. There was been a plague of ACL injuries to hit the women's game in recent years, with Matildas captain Sam Kerr currently sidelined until February with one.

Alex Greenwood.
Alex Greenwood was left devastated. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Alex Greenwood, pictured here being taken from the field on a stretcher.
Alex Greenwood had to be taken from the field on a stretcher. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Greenwood's injury also marred a night which saw a debut to remember for 18-year-old Lily Murphy, who only signed her first professional contract last week. The teenager was lively throughout the game and held her arms aloft in delight when she tapped in the opening goal in the 55th minute, with Kerstin Casparij also scoring her first goal for the club.

The victory maintained City's perfect record in the Champions League. However Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Hammarby means Fowler's team are not yet assured of top spot in the group ahead of a trip to Catalonia next week.

Meanwhile, fellow Matildas players Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross started in Arsenal's 3-1 win at Valerenga, while Steph Catley wasn't required. Alessio Russo scored a double as the Gunners took a big step towards securing top spot in Group C.

Arsenal were already guaranteed a quarter-final berth after a narrow victory at home to Juventus last month, but the three points in Norway keep alive the prospect of beating current leaders Bayern Munich to first position in the group. First-half goals by Russo and Frida Maanum put Renee Slegers' side in control before England forward Russo grabbed a second after the break.

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Foord was brilliant on the wing and set up a number of attacking raids, including one that resulted in Maanum's goal. Arsenal earned an eighth win in nine under interim coach Slegers ahead of Wednesday's visit of Bayern, who are one point ahead of the English club following a 4-0 triumph over Juventus.

with AAP