Who is Aurora Galli? Everton star preparing for return to starting XI after ACL injury

15th January 2026 Oliver Taliku

Everton women are preparing to welcome back Aurora Galli to their starting XI after over a year on the sidelines for the Italian.

Galli returned to the pitch on Saturday, and could start for the Toffees in their FA Cup clash this weekend.

Who is Aurora Galli?

Aurora Galli first signed for Everton in 2021. When she joined the Toffees, Galli became the first Italian player to ever move to the WSL.

The midfielder quickly became a fan favourite on Merseyside and she was rewarded with a contract extension in July 2024.

Disaster struck later that year however, with Galli tearing her ACL in September. The 29-year-old missed all of 2025 and only in January this year did she return to training.

Galli finally made her return to the field on Saturday against Manchester City.

Everton couldn’t pick up a win against the title challengers, but they put up a good fight in the 2-0 loss.

The Toffees currently sit just above Liverpool and West Ham at the bottom of the table. Only one team gets relegated this season with the WSL expanding to 14 teams in 2026.

Some big fixtures are coming up for the Toffees in the next few weeks and they enter the FA Cup on Thursday night with a clash against West Brom in the fourth round.

Galli is in line to start under Sorensen against West Brom for the first time in over a year.

Aurora Galli feels like a new signing

The return of Galli comes at an important time one considering Everton’s fortunes of late. Kelly Gago handed in a transfer request to return to France and now Brian Sorensen is set to be without Katja Snoeijs for up to six weeks.

Galli can’t necessarily fill the boots of Gago up front, however Snoeijs has been used in midfield this season and Everton are thin in that position. The midfielder almost feels like a new signing considering how long she has been out.

The Toffees have signed only one player so far in January, with Hannah Blundell joining on loan from Manchester United.

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About Oliver Taliku 494 Articles
Olly Taliku has worked with highly respected sports and gambling websites where he has produced hundreds of articles, as well as being published with Burton Albion and Chesterfield FC. At Burton Olly worked closely alongside the women's team, producing mainly matchday content including reports and interviews. He also has experience as an accredited Premier League and EFL writer for Prost International where he worked during the 2021/22 season to produce matchday content as an on location reporter. Olly specialises in women's football as well as long form SEO content plus news and tips. While he enjoys writing about all football, Olly supports Arsenal passionately as a lifelong fan of the club.