“We don’t give it the time of day,” says pelvic floor physiotherapist Emma Brockwell. “If you look at any journal on the hip, groin, pelvis, the pelvic floor is missing. It’s wild how this muscle group has been ignored.”

The pelvic floor supports the pelvic organs (the bladder, uterus and bowel), controls the body’s continence mechanisms and helps with core stability. It affects every woman’s daily life, including elite athletes and teenage girls. And it impacts men, too. Yet, apart from during pregnancy, the pelvic floor is barely talked about at all — certainly not in the context of professional sport.

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At Manchester City, however, after a few women players reported urinary incontinence (an involuntary leakage of urine) when doing a jumping warm-up exercise called pogos, it prompted questions about how representative that number was across the team.

Dr Rosie Anderson, physical performance scientist, and Emma Deakin, director of performance services, contacted Brockwell, who also works with Women’s Super League clubs Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and London City Lionesses, and National Women’s Soccer League side Washington Spirit. She aims to educate players and staff, assess players’ pelvic health and ensure pelvic floor work is integrated within their exercise programmes.

City found some players, for fear of leaking urine and the embarrassment caused, were modifying exercises, such as limiting the weight with which they squat in the gym. For the same reason, they were at times reluctant to jump and run at maximum intensity or drink fluids. They would go to the toilet frequently before a game, serving as a distraction from performance.

There is a psychological impact too. “It knocks their confidence,” says Brockwell.