Vivianne Miedema thanks fans for support after Manchester City absence due to family matter

Vivianne Miedema thanks fans for support after Manchester City absence due to family matter

Manchester City forward Vivianne Miedema has thanked fans for their support after a family matter kept her out of the final stages of her side’s Women’s Super League title run-in.

Miedema, 29, explained in a social media post on Thursday morning her absence was due to her mum experiencing serious complications after undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer.

The Netherlands international missed City’s fixtures against Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool as her side closed in on the WSL title, and her team-mates held up her No 10 shirt as they celebrated winning the league on Wednesday after Arsenal dropped points against Brighton.

Miedema’s partner, Arsenal forward Beth Mead, had also not played since returning from April’s international break, missing both legs of her side’s Champions League semi-final against Lyon and the WSL win over Leicester City, with head coach Renee Slegers citing “personal reasons” for her absence. She returned to the squad for Wednesday’s draw at Brighton and was introduced as a second-half substitute. Mead lost her mum, June, to ovarian cancer in January 2023.

“The last 2.5 weeks have been really difficult for us as a family,” Miedema wrote on Instagram. “My mum had serious complications after her chemo treatment for cancer and has been in the ICU since.