Lyon forward Ada Hegerberg is just the latest in a long list of female footballers to fall victim to a season-ending ACL injury.

The 24-year-old confirmed in a tweet that she has ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), putting her out for the rest of the season. 

"This is a setback for me, but I'm going to work through this with all my heart and my energy," she said.

Hegerberg already has 14 goals and five assists in 13 league appearances this season, along with nine goals in just four Champions League appearances. 

When it comes to women's football, ACL injuries are far more common than some would like to admit and of late there have been calls for more research into them as athlete's search for anything that could aid in preventing them occurring so regularly.

ACL injuries generally take up to six to ninth months to recover from, but even after then it isn't talked a great deal about how it can still take up to six months for athlete's to really find their groove again - part of the reason we still haven't seen Arsenal's Jordan Nobbs back to her very best yet.

Just last season Hegerberg was at the heart of Lyon's UWCL final dismantling of Barcelona when she scored a hat-trick, helping her side to a fourth consecutive Champions League title.

Unfortunately for Hegerberg and Lyon, she'll be cheering on from the sidelines as they make a bid for a fifth consecutive title, seventh in total.

With the women's winter transfer window in France close to ending, Lyon could make a late move in Hegerberg's absence, or could look to rely on the likes of Delphine Cascarino or Nikita Parris slotting in alongside Eugénie Le Sommer up top.

But the Norwegian is targeting a speedy recovery and will hope to be ready for when Lyon kick-starts their 20/21 campaign: "You'll see me soon."