Aston Villa Women's goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has posted a picture of herself in hospital - after her manager said she had 'ongoing medical issues' and backtracked on claims she was dropped over an attitude problem.
Sportsmail reported this week that Hampton was dropped by both Villa and England over behavioural issues, but the 21-year-old claimed she has 'been suffering with a a medical problem for a while' which needed 'a small procedure' to address it.
And the Villa star tweeted an image from her hospital bed with a caption saying 'can't wait to be back,' along with a laughing emoji.
Her post, in reference to the recent furore about her absence, appears to hit back at those reports of attitude problems and highlight she does have a genuine medical issue.
Hampton's tweet received more than 1,000 likes less than an hour after posting it, with many well-wishers offering supportive comments for a quick recovery.
On Friday, Villa boss Carla Ward performed a surprising U-turn on her reason for axing Hampton, U-turning on her previous comments and now backing up her player's claims of an injury.
Ward had said Hampton was fit to play in last Friday's press conference ahead of a game against Chelsea at Kingsmeadow. The goalkeeper was left out of the squad but turned up unannounced to watch from the stands.
When asked about Hampton's situation, Ward then said: 'She has a recurring muscle injury, she'll undergo a small medical procedure tomorrow. After that she'll be back in contention. That's as much as I want to say on the matter.'
Ward previously said Hampton had been available for the game but that something had happened a day earlier which led her to decide it was in the best interests of the team to leave her at home.
Ward said: 'Hannah was available. Something happened yesterday and we decided it was in the best interests of the team and the squad for her to stay at home so I did exactly that.
'That's all I really want to say on the matter. I made the decision in the best interests of the team to leave at her home and I've left her at home. I would probably prefer to talk about the 11 players that were here.'
It then emerged on Monday that Hampton had been dropped by England over issues with her attitude. The goalkeeper has not been picked by Sarina Wiegman since the Euros, with the Lionesses' boss stating she had 'personal issues' she had to resolve.
Wiegman said the door was always open for Hampton so long as she worked on her issues - saying 'she has to sort things out'.
'I haven't spoken to her myself, we have made a plan, she's at her club, she's taking care of that,' Wiegman said. 'We are supporting and that's where we are right now.
'It's the same reason as I said in September, nothing changed. That's basically what it is.
'She still has to [sort things out], it's something personal I would not like to comment on further.'
Hampton later clarified her situation on social media as she revealed to the public she had been battling a medical problem.
'I’ve been suffering with an ongoing medical issue for a while and it’s time to address it properly this week with a small procedure,' she said.
'I’ll be out for a few weeks now as I recover with the support of everyone at the club. My priority now is to return to fitness, get back on the pitch and give my all for the team. UTV!'