Plumptre marks her return from injury with a bang as she helps Leicester demolish Sunderland 5-0

SUPER Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre has marked her return from injury with a bang helping her club Leicester City secure a comprehensive win in her first match back as they hammered Sunderland 5-0 away.

Plumptre, 24, is a centreback of mixed parentage but opted to play for Nigeria, making her Super Falcons debut last year. Since November 20, she has been out injured, however, after picking up a hamstring injury in a 1-0 loss to West Ham United, forcing her to miss almost two months of action.

Yesterday, however, she bounced back, playing 61 minutes in Leicester's rout of Sunderland in a Continental Tyres League Cup fixture at the Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground. Prior to her injury, Plumptre, one of the first names on Leicester City's team sheet and with her return following this trip to the northeast, she appears on her way back.

 Match commentators say Plumptre performed well against Sunderland, helping goalkeeper Kirstie  Levell keep a rare clean sheet for Leicester. Goals from Missy Goodwin, Sam Tierney, Ava Baker, and Molly Pike (2) secured a big win for the visitors.

Plumptre and her teammates return to Women's Super League action on Sunday, January 15 when they face Brighton & Hove at the King Power Stadium.  Plumptre, a former England youth teamer, was a key member of the Nigeria squad that qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup and her last outing for the national team was in Kobe, where she featured for 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Japan.