Mel Reay confirms Sunderland injury setback and urges team to finish a positive campaign on a high

Mel Reay confirmed ahead of Sunderland’s final game of the Women’s Championship campaign that Towers will be facing an extended spell on the sidelines. Having returned to the club earlier this year, the 18-year-old has been an integral part of Reay’s side and played a major role in the strong league form that secured safety with a number of games to spare.

Reay says Towers will have all the support she needs from the club to make a full comeback next season and build on that impressive start to her Championship career.

“Abby Towers will need surgery on an ACL injury, which will happen in the next couple of weeks,” Reay said.

“The club is 100% behind her, it's one of those horrible, unfortunate injuries that a lot of female footballers seem to pick up.

“She has the full support of the medical support here at the club, the staff and her team-mates as well.

“She'll have a good recovery and we'll try and get her back in some time next season. We can draw on the experience of the squad as well, Grace McCatty had it when she was younger.

“It's important to do the recovery correctly to get that strength back in the knee so it doesn't happen again.

“Abby is in good spirits, she's still supporting the team and being around the squad, which is really important for her.”

Sunderland will also be again without Maria Farrugia as they look to bounce from a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Durham Women at Maiden Castle last Sunday.

Having achieved their points target for the campaign, Reay wants her team to finish on a high against Bristol City and build some positive momentum heading into an important summer.

"We were disappointed last Sunday because we know we can do so much better,” Reay said.

“It's part and parcel of the game but we felt we could have done the basics better, we've conceded at key times in the game and that's made it really difficult for us to claw our way back in.

“It was a local derby, a big crowd, a really tight pitch. There were probably some nerves as well particularly having conceded so early on. I thought we held our own until the break without creating many chances, and then we've again conceded early in the second half and lost that bit of belief.

“It's another learning curve for a young group of players. We've analysed it, parked it, and the players are eager to put it right in front of our home fans for the last time this season.

“We've spoken about that disappointment and having one game left to fix it.

“It would have left a real sour taste if there wasn't another game to come, if we'd had that feeling for the off season.

“This is a massive opportunity to show up, hit the high levels that we've hit at certain times in the season. We want to finish on a high, and really go into next season flying with confidence.”

The game is a 2pm kick off at Eppleton, and will also be streamed live on the club’s Youtube channel.