Liverpool winger Melissa Lawley will miss the rest of the season due to a hip injury, the club have confirmed.

The 29-year-old has started 12 of the Reds’ 17 Women’s Super League matches this season but head coach Matt Beard has said she could now be out for six months, with surgery likely to be needed:

“Unfortunately, Mel is going to be out with a hip problem and she is probably going to need an operation. Without going into the ins and outs, she is probably going to be out for six months all in all, post-operation.”

Lawley is an experienced player. After coming through Arsenal’s academy, she went on to have spells at Bristol Academy and Birmingham City before finding success with Manchester City.

During her time with the Citizens, she won 12 England caps, scoring her only goal for the Lionesses in a World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan in 2017.

After three years with City, she made the switch to Liverpool at the start of the 2019/20 season. Although the team were relegated at the end of the campaign, she remained with the Merseysiders and helped them to promotion back to the WSL last year.