Gary Lineker donates £3,000 to help save female footballer's career with the BBC presenter's pledge taking Doncaster Rovers Belles Sophie Scargill's total to the £5,000 she needs for knee ligament surgery

• e-mail

Gary Lineker has donated £3,000 to help save the career of Doncaster Rovers Belles captain Sophie Scargill.

Scargill needed to raise £5,000 to have surgery on ruptured knee ligaments or face a two-year wait on the NHS - which doctors said would increase the risk of not playing again.

The 26-year-old set up a JustGiving page and had raised £2,000 before Lineker made up the rest of the total needed.

Gary Lineker has pledged a huge sum to help cover Sophie Scargill's knee surgery

Scargill injured her knee in training last month and faced waiting two years on the NHS list 

The former England striker and BBC Match of the Day host wrote: ‘I see you need another £3,000. It’s my pleasure to help. Hope you’re back playing soon.’

The total has now reached £8,060 since Lineker’s donation.

Rovers Belles, who have previously played in the Women’s Super League, currently compete in the National League Division One Midlands - the fourth tier of women’s football.

Scargill said she believed she had insurance but was then told that was only £250, which did not cover the cost of her £350 MRI scan.

She told The Yorkshire Post:‘When the doctors said it would massively increase the chances of never playing again, I panicked and went private, then realised I don’t have the £5,000.’

Fellow TV presenter Jacqui Oatley praised Lineker for his donation on Friday 

Doncaster had offered to loan her the £5,000 but Scargill decided to continue down the Crowdfunding path after raising £2,000.

In her original post on, Scargill said: ‘My name is Sophie Scargill and I’m the Club Captain at Doncaster Belles. My life is sport and exercise. I use exercise to deal with every emotion and since I live on my own, it consumes my life.

‘In September 2021, I turned my world upside down when I completely ruptured my lateral meniscus and caused severe trauma to the main ligaments in my knee while playing football. This now means I can hardly walk, let alone play and my independence and purpose has been stripped from me.

‘Although I know I’m very lucky to have the life I do, I need surgery to have any chance of returning to the sport I love. This is going to cost me £5000. I’m asking for help to get me back on that pitch and back running on the road.’