Scotland skipper Rachel Corsie volition discontinue adjacent week aft surviving successful "chronic pain" with a genu wounded that kept her retired for the bulk of the season.
The 35-year-old volition articulation up with Melissa Andreatta's archetypal Scotland campy connected Monday aft receiving her archetypal call-up since July for the last 2 Nations League A games against Austria connected Friday and the Netherlands adjacent Tuesday - unrecorded connected BBC Scotland.
The defender made her instrumentality to shot for Aston Villa connected 30 April, aft not featuring for the Women's Super League broadside since September. It was announced connected 9 May that she would permission Villa astatine the extremity of the season.
Corsie, who has 154 planetary caps and 20 goals and played astatine Euro 2017 and the 2019 World Cup, says it "feels similar the close moment" for retirement.
"My assemblage has truly wanted this to beryllium my past year," she said.
"Playing successful the WSL, playing planetary football, I deliberation it's the highest level, and to beryllium turning 36 successful August knowing I'm going to halt playing astatine the highest point, it feels the close spot for me."
Aberdeen-born Corsie started with Glasgow City successful 2008 and won 13 large honours with Scotland's then-dominant unit earlier joining Notts County successful 2014.
A six-year stint successful the NWSL successful the United States - with Seattle Reign, Utah Royals and Kansas City Current - followed, though she enjoyed indebtedness moves to Canberra United and Birmingham City aft besides heading backmost to City successful 2015 wherever she picked up different SWPL and Scottish Cup double.
The centre-back joined Villa successful 2022 and closed retired her 18-year nine vocation with the WSL broadside by returning from a sixth cognition - and 5th connected her near genu - for their last 2 league games.
"Getting backmost to playing astatine the extremity of the play was a truly pugnacious ambition and objective, but we got there," Corsie said.
"I was told by the surgeon earlier having the country that determination was the enactment to person it, but the information of my genu was reasonably concerning and that though country would perchance springiness immoderate relief, determination was rather a superior likelihood that the harm that's been done implicit the people of my vocation is going to beryllium impactful to the remainder of my life.
"I wanted to bash the country due to the fact that I knew that I couldn't get backmost playing, leaving it arsenic it was.
"You person this self-belief that 'I've done it before, I could bash it again'.
"I fundamentally was conscionable successful chronic symptom each the time. Walking up and down stairs successful the house, sitting successful the car for periods of time, getting successful and retired of the ablution and having to ascent retired implicit the bath.
"All these small things, the day-to-day things that for maine are present not normal.
"It's been a pugnacious travel but I've made it and it has been worthy - I deliberation - each those days successful pain."
Throughout her spell connected the sidelines, Corsie has ne'er hidden her tendency to instrumentality for Scotland.
The skipper was an ever-present astir campy earlier this play erstwhile the Scots suffered play-off pain again successful Euro 2025 qualifying against Finland.
She led her state retired successful France successful 2019 astatine their archetypal World Cup, having played a important relation successful their qualification for a archetypal large tourney - Euro 2017 - 2 years prior.
Such heights person ne'er been reached again. And, portion a swansong successful Switzerland ought to person been successful the thoughts six months ago, pulling the acheronian bluish astatine Hampden oregon successful the Netherlands successful the coming days is simply a adjacent second.
Though she admits she'll beryllium "a full mess" connected the last whistle.
When asked if this had the imaginable to beryllium the cleanable goodbye, Corsie replied: "I deliberation it does for maine and I deliberation it's a truly unsocial opportunity."
"It's been the 1 happening that's been the airy that I've needed astatine times to support going, to privation to support pushing," she added.
"It's been the biggest motivator, that feeling of playing for Scotland."