Emergency operation at the end of the year Lia Wälti: "I was just glad it wasn't a tumor"

Lia Wälti (31) is a top performer at Arsenal and in the national team. But she was slowed down several times in 2024. In an exclusive interview with blue Sport, she reveals that at the end of the year, she was even on life support.

"I think you can say from the outside that 2024 certainly wasn't my year. I didn't play as much as I would have liked." Knee problems forced Lia Wälti to take a month-long break from the end of March: "The injury was very persistent." The healing process is taking much longer than expected, which is increasingly weighing on her mind. "For a long time, I didn't know how it would end, whether it would be okay again. Mentally, it was one of the more difficult injuries I've ever had, even though the diagnosis wasn't the worst."

At times, Wälti can barely walk, even though he should have been able to do so long ago. "Sometimes you question what you're doing and how much longer you can do it. And you hope that it will come good again, especially before such an important year as 2025. That's why I was glad to get back into the swing of things," says Wälti.

In her first match under Nati coach Pia Sundhage in February 2024, she plays the full distance in one of two test matches against Poland, but then misses all of the matches in the European Championship qualifiers. The central midfielder did not return to the national team until October. Against top teams Australia (1:1) and France (2:1), she took control of the game and proved that she had lost none of her class.

The next setback followed around a month later. Wälti travels to the national team camp for the international matches against Germany and England, but leaves before the first media appointments are due. A few hours later, Wälti posts a photo from the hospital on Instagram: "What looked small turned out to be an abscess. Because we recognized it early, I got the help I needed."

"It's life-threatening if you don't take it seriously"

On a cold January morning in St Albans, an idyllic London suburb, Wälti talks to blue Sport for the first time about how serious the situation really was. "It's life-threatening if you don't take it seriously or don't find it."

Wälti had been feeling weak again and again for two weeks beforehand, but gritted her teeth as there were many important games on the program. But one day she felt "that a lump had formed in my body". She had the feeling that it "didn't belong in my body" and then told the doctors at Arsenal.

"We then observed that. Actually only for a few days. The lump got bigger so quickly." At that point, it was not yet life-threatening. "But I was told you have to operate immediately. If you wait any longer, the bacteria in the body can become life-threatening, depending on where they are. And yes, this is a different situation to any injury. That's why I was very, very happy that we found it so quickly."

What triggered the diagnosis for her? "I had the MRI in the morning and was operated on the same day. I didn't really have time to process it before the operation took place." Afterwards, a few thoughts went through her head: "At first, I was just happy that it wasn't a tumor. I was a little scared when you feel a lump like that in your body."

However, she was also happy and grateful that the medical care had been so good. "But it did shake me up a bit. And it certainly showed me again that it's good to listen to your body and your gut feeling and go to the doctor more often."

Will 2025 be the best year of Wälti's career?

After the operation, Wälti will not only miss the two international matches, but also the four games with Arsenal that follow until the winter break. She travels to Switzerland over the festive period and spends the days off with her loved ones. But even there, not everything goes according to plan, as Wälti is a little ill. Nevertheless, she is still able to spend a few days in nature and recharge her batteries.

As the FA Cup match on 12 January has been called off due to the unplayable pitch, the first competitive match of the new calendar year is not scheduled until next Sunday. In the league, Arsenal will host Crystal Palace. The Gunners are still represented in all competitions and are among the title contenders in the league, the Champions League and the cup competitions. And the biggest highlight of their successful career will come in the summer with the European Championship at home.

In the second part on Friday, you can find out what goals Lia Wälti is pursuing with Arsenal and the national team in 2025.

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