After a year out on the sidelines recovering from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, England winger Chloe Kelly will always be grateful for the position that she is in right now.
The 24-year-old is enjoying what has so far been an hugely enjoyable and memorable UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 for the Lionesses on home soil. However, she will always reflect on the struggles of her injury and also
the negativity surrounding the ‘taboo topic’ of the women’s game.
Why does everyone fear it so much? Why is it, this person has done their ACL and then there’s just negativity that goes with it? Those were questions that Kelly asked her physio towards the end of her rehabilitation.
The player has been speaking to the media about the topic ahead of tomorrow night’s UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 group match between England and Northern Ireland.
“Throughout my injury, I always thought I’d be back sooner, but it’s always in the back of your head that people say it’s nine to 12 months,” Kelly said. “I had a phase in my rehab where I actually believed I’d be back in seven but I had a setback and I wasn’t.”
Despite the grey area of understanding or lack of conversations about ACL injuries amongst female footballers, it has been known that the long-term injury poses a bigger risk to females in the sport.
“I think the negativity around ACL’s is more than the research, it’s something that I would like changing,” said Kelly. “As soon as someone does their ACL, it’s like ‘will they be back as they were before?’ but why not because you’re putting everything into it just like another injury.”
Watching on from the sidelines is always tough for any footballer, regardless of the injury, but for Kelly, she has been able to relate to other Barclays Women’s Super League players who have experienced the highs and lows that she did last season.
One of those players is Arsenal midfielder Jordan Nobbs, who unfortunately has had her incredible talent on the pitch overshadowed by her unfortunate string of long-term injuries.
“Jordan called me a few days after my injury,” said Kelly. “She said she was always here and there’s going to be difficult moments throughout the process, so that was really nice of her and it helped me throughout my journey knowing that there are people that have experienced it before and you can have conversations and it’s normal.”
Another player who has just started her journey after tearing her ACL in the early stages of the tournament is Kelly’s former Everton teammate Simone Magill, who suffered the injury in her nation’s 4-1 defeat to Norway in their first game of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022.
“I’ve had a conversation with Si as well and I’m always going to be there for her throughout her rehab, because it is so difficult and it’s about having people around you that have experienced it,” Kelly added.
“Nobbs was one for me that spoke to me at the very beginning of my rehab. That really helped me to speak to someone who had been through it so if I can help Si in anyway then I will.”
Kelly could feature for England when they face Northern Ireland at St Mary’s in Southampton tomorrow night.
By Megan Garbutt