Matildas fullback Ellie Carpenter has been named International Women’s Player of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation, capping off her successful return from a serious knee injury. The right-sided defender has been one of the Matildas’ most reliable players during their recent World Cup and Olympic campaigns, and helped her French club Lyon to the final of the European Champions League, where they were defeated by Barcelona. The Australian beat fellow nominee Yui Hasegawa of Japan, a midfielder for Manchester City. Although Carpenter did not take home the Champions League winner’s medal in May, it was a triumphant return to one of the game’s grandest stages. She injured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in the 2022 final, in a match between the same teams won by Lyon. The Cowra-born player successfully returned from the injury in time for last year’s World Cup, and helped the Matildas to the semi-finals. Despite the team’s sensational run, Carpenter was targeted by online trolls after a defensive mistake contributed to England’s crucial second goal in their 3-1 victory. But she returned strongly last season for Lyon, and helped the club win 20 of 22 games in the French regular season, as well as victory in the playoffs. The Australian was named in the competition’s team of the season. Speaking last week, Carpenter – who is one of the Matildas’ senior players despite being just 24 – said the national team must improve after a disappointing Paris Olympics campaign, where they were eliminated in the group stage. “We are 15th now in the world, and I think we’re not satisfied with that, and we need to produce results in these next couple of years and this is a very important start of a massive cycle for this team,” she said. Australia hosts the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026, and the next World Cup is in Brazil in 2027. James Johnson, chief executive of Football Australia, said: “We are incredibly proud of Ellie Carpenter’s achievement”. The AFC introduced the International Women’s Player of the Year Award this season, “in recognition of the growth of women’s football and the success of the continent’s top players”, according to a statement on the confederation’s website. Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was named the recipient of the equivalent men’s award. The AFC has separate player of the year awards for performances in Asian competitions. This year, Japan’s Kiko Seike beat Matilda Cortnee Vine and South Korea’s Kim Hye-ri to the honour. Qatar’s Akram Afif won the men’s award. Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, who scored against Carpenter’s Lyon in May’s Champions League final, was awarded the Women’s Ballon d’Or in a ceremony in Paris on Tuesday.