Last night’s WSL clash between Manchester City and Chelsea was monumental in every sense. The title race remains in the Blues’ favor as a dramatic late winner in the dying moments secured them a narrow 2-1 triumph at their rivals’ home ground. The cherry on top was the return of USWNT star Mia Fishel, who shared a heartwarming and optimistic message.

Well, if it isn’t the missing person! After an almost 13-month absence from action due to an ACL tear, the 23-year-old finally made her return to the pitch. Though for a mere 3 minutes and some extra time, the striker replaced teammate Johanna Rytting Kaneryd to announce her comeback from her lengthy injury spell.

In fact, for the occasion, Fishel took to Instagram and penned a special message to her ardent fans and close ones. Sharing a carousel of four pictures, the youngster wrote, “Blessed to get my first minutes since injury with this amazing team✨ There were a lot of people involved in my comeback and I want to thank you for the work, love, and support all the way up to this point! A great team win today and this is just the beginning.”

Notably, it was Man City who drew first blood, courtesy of new signing Kerolin in the 32nd minute. But just minutes after the second half began, Aggie Beever-Jones stepped up to level things up. Both sides pushed each other’s buttons. Yet, Sonia Bompastor and Co. seemed desperate to secure the win, having even sent Mia in the 87th minute. Fortunately, it was finally in stoppage time when Erin Cuthbert saved Chelsea from losing two points with her crucial finish.

Having joined Chelsea in August 2023 from Liga MX side Tigres, Fishel made 10 appearances for the Blues, notching four goals before she sustained her season-ending injury. At that time, the talented prospect had Hayes as a domestic coach. It was just months after the announcement of the 48-year-old boss joining the USWNT that Fishel had sustained her ACL tear.

That also saw her miss almost an entire year with WNT after making her senior debut in September 2023. So far she has earned a total of three caps and has scored one goal for the national side. Regardless, it’s finally good to see Fishel back on the pitch. While fans would hope to see her in the remaining matches of the season, she still has a limited role to play!

USWNT star to miss UEFA Champions League action!

Unfortunately, the rest of the season sees Mia Fishel just participate in the remaining WSL matches. Add an FA Cup women’s semi-final clash against Liverpool and a potential final if they qualify. However, the San Diego native won’t be seen in the Champions League after being omitted from Chelsea’s revised squad for the knockout stages. The tough decision came due to one of the rules of the competition.

Apparently, the 7X WSL winners could register only three new players for their UEFA squad after submitting the initial lineup in September. Bompastor’s side made two major signings—U.S. defender Naomi Girma for a world-record fee of over $1 million and Keira Walsh from FC Barcelona for more than half that amount. Hence, both players were added to the squad.

As for the remaining one, it was a tough choice between either Sam Kerr or Mia Fishel, who both had missed out on the group stages due to their ACL blows. While Kerr became the obvious choice to fill the third spot, Fischel was given the cold shoulder. Yet, Sonia had an explanation for her decision.

“It was a difficult decision to make because obviously the players will always want to be in the squad but I spoke to them, I explained why I made that decision. I think the most important thing is now, it’s clear for everyone,” explained the Dutch tactician.

So despite returning after 410 days, we won’t be able to see Fischel on the European stage. Coincidentally, the Blues again face Man City in the coming week to play their return leg of the quarterfinal. Apparently, the WSL leaders are trailing 0-2 on aggregate score, making a mission for them to etch a comeback. Let’s see how are they able to do that!