Daniëlle van de Donk said she had “never been more proud of myself” after recovering from a prolonged knee injury to make her long-awaited debut for London City Lionesses at the weekend, seven months after signing for the Women’s Super League newcomers.
The 34-year-old midfielder, who had not played since starting for the Netherlands against France at Euro 2025 in July, came on as a second-half substitute in London City’s 1-0 win at Sunderland in the Women’s FA Cup fourth round on Saturday. Van de Donk, a former Arsenal player, joined London City from OL Lyonnes last summer but was sidelined by the injury.
“I’ve never been more proud of myself,” Van de Donk said. “No one really knows what happened because that was my choice, but I had many setbacks and it wasn’t easy at all. But I’m even more proud and happy to be back.” She added that she had debated whether to continue playing before the opportunity arose, saying: “I can go 100% for that but it’s going to be very hard with my body.”
Victory at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground was London City’s first under new head coach Eder Maestre. Speaking about Van de Donk’s return, he said: “I like seeing her enjoying playing football again. She is very talented with lots of experience and this [her debut] is like another win.”
The midfielder was playing in the FA Cup nearly 10 years after winning the competition with Arsenal and five years after leaving the club for France, where she won the Champions League in 2022. “It [her London City debut] was super special,” Van de Donk said. “As soon as [I was] on the pitch, I’m just so happy.”
London City are seventh in the WSL after a goalless draw at Liverpool in Maestre’s first game in charge. Van de Donk said: “I feel like we’re part of a building team, and especially now we’re rebuilding again with a new coach, so we’re trying to adapt to his playing style. We just want to continue with what we’ve shown today and get better and better each game.”
