Bethany: “I’ve realised I’m not a very good watcher... the staff will be happy to see me back out there!”

Bethany England has told us how ‘little wins every day’ helped her cope with her biggest injury lay-off to date - and how the team’s staff will be delighted to see her back in action, rather than in the dugout!

The England international returned in style from a hip injury with four goals and an assist in a training ground friendly against Gibraltar’s national team on Friday. That was her first action since the World Cup Final on 20 August, having undergone surgery in early September.

Named captain by Robert Vilahamn just ahead of the season, Bethany has been a constant presence around the squad during her rehabilitation, and close to the players during an impressive start to 2023/24, where a run of six matches unbeaten in the WSL - three wins, three draws, with chances to win all six - was ended last time out by Manchester City.

Asked how she’d dealt with three months out, Bethany, who scored 12 goals in 12 for us in the WSL in the second half of last season, told us: “I’ve realised I’m not a very good watcher, and the staff are probably going to be happy to see me back out there, not around the bench! I’m a bit of a talker, so I’m sure they’ll be glad to get rid of me!

“It’s been really tough. I had a torn Achilles in lockdown, so didn’t really miss anything. I was lucky. So, to date, this is my biggest injury in terms of missing games. How do you deal with it? You just find little wins every day. There are lots of highs and lows. You have to have a good network around you and that’s what I’ve had, so much support from the staff here, my partner, my friends.

“I’ve definitely been miserable and not the best fun to be around at times, I’ll hold my hands up to that, but, as they say, patients don’t make the best doctors, and everyone has looked after me and made sure the hip is strong and stable.

“So, whatever happened against Gibraltar, it was always going to be a win for me just to be back out there. It’s been 14 weeks since my last game in the World Cup Final and it feels like a long time. It was nice to get minutes under my belt and exciting to be scoring goals again.

“I can’t thank the staff enough for everything they’ve done to get me to this point. I’m just so glad I’m back and able to play some part before the end of the year, and whatever I can bring, I’ll bring it for the team. We’ve huge games coming up and I just want to get back on the pitch and help the team in any way I can.”