14 March 2024 , 08:05
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Arsenal Women defender Amanda Ilestedt has announced that she is pregnant with her fist child and is set to miss the remainder of the Women's Super League season.
The Sweden centre-back and partner Rainer Muller took to social media to announce the news that they are expecting on Wednesday, while Arsenal confirmed that the 31-year-old will not feature for Jonas Eidevall's side until after she has given birth.
Ilestedt joined Arsenal from Paris Saint-Germain last year and has since made 12 WSL appearances for the Gunners, adding one goal. She has not featured for Jonas Eidevall's side since 4 February and the north London team will now be without the ex-Bayern Munich defender for several months.
The Gunners star wrote on Instagram: "Exciting news! We are having a baby!!"
Arsenal confirmed the news in a statement published on the club's website, adding Ilestedt would take part in "light training activities".
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"We are delighted to share the happy news that Amanda Ilestedt is expecting her first child," the club website said.
"Amanda is doing well and we are supporting her closely throughout this new and exciting journey.
"Amanda will continue to undertake light training activities and keep in close contact with our medical team as her pregnancy progresses, but will not now be available for selection until after she has given birth.
"Everybody at Arsenal would like to send our warm congratulations to Amanda and her partner Rainer ahead of the new arrival."
Maternity leave and assistance provided to players who have babies in women's football has become a hot topic of late. Players in the top two tiers of women's football in England receive full wages for the first 14 weeks of maternity leave and then statutory pay after an agreement in January 2022.
But Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has said top-flight clubs need to do more to help those players who have children. Hayes introduced a pelvic floor coach in a revolutionary move as Blues midfielder Melanie Leupolz returned to the competitive fold after giving birth in 2018.
"If a player tears an ACL, you do everything possible to get them back on the pitch in nine to 12 months," Hayes told Sky Sports.
"We should be exactly the same with a woman that has a baby, but we don't."
AS Ilestedt prepares to welcome her first child, Eidevall's side will continue to keep their WSL title, along with their Continental Cup defence, hopes alive in her absence. The Gunners currently sit third in the league, just three points behind leaders Chelsea and Manchester City but with a major opportunity to close the gap as they travel to Chelsea on Friday evening.
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