Manchester City have formed a research collaboration with the English Institute of Sport to accelerate the understanding of female athlete health.

So far research across sport is limited given the relative infancy of full-time professional female clubs.

Access to detailed insights is often unavailable but this project will look at how to optimise performance support.

"Menstruation has always been a taboo subject, but it shouldn't be," said City captain Steph Houghton.

"It's a key part of life for women, especially those who are professional athletes.

"Throughout my time in the game, there has been a real lack of information and research surrounding female athletes and the effect of hormone levels on performance, and it's incredibly exciting that we're able to now do some real work on it.

"Hopefully, this collaboration can have a real impact on how we tailor our approach to the game around our own individual bodies to grow the levels of the game even further."

Through a piece of technology called Hormonix, provided by the EIS and developed by Mint Diagnostics, Manchester City's first-team players will be able to access rapid and accurate information on their hormone levels and have a much greater understanding of how their menstrual cycles may influence health and performance.

"This is a truly pioneering collaboration," said Dr Richard Burden, co-lead for female athlete health at the EIS.

"Elite sport is the incubator for this work but its reach is far broader. The insights developed here will be translatable to grassroots, developmental athletes and to the general population."