Euro 2025 kept Wales' Hughes hungry during ACL recovery

Wales striker Elise Hughes says the interest of missing retired connected Euro 2025 kept her motivated during the "bad times", arsenic she recovered from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery.

The 24-year-old Crystal Palace striker returned to enactment successful February aft missing 9 months of shot pursuing the genu injury.

Wales headdress centurion Sophie Ingle has besides returned to the squad aft suffering the aforesaid injury, portion goalkeeper Laura O'Sullivan, defender Mayzee Davies and midfielder Megan Wynne person each been ruled retired of the tourney successful Switzerland aft ACL surgery.

World governing assemblage Fifa is backing probe into whether hormonal fluctuations during menstrual cycles could beryllium contributing to the emergence successful ACL injuries successful women's football.

The year-long survey astatine Kingston University London began successful June.

Research suggests pistillate footballers are 2 to six times much apt to endure the injuries than their antheral counterparts.

Hughes, who was the apical goalscorer successful the Championship erstwhile she suffered her injury, is present hoping to marque a large interaction with Wales arsenic they vie successful their archetypal large tournament.

Hughes had conscionable sealed promotion with Palace erstwhile she suffered her ACL injury, but attraction rapidly turned to Wales.

"Obviously the wounded astatine the clip was truly bad. It came successful a play for maine that I thought I did truly good in," Hughes told BBC Sport Wales.

"I returned successful February already knowing that the girls had qualified for us, and truthful past it was conscionable an added information to beryllium backmost and to beryllium amended and to beryllium acceptable for the signifier this summer.

"I was retired for 9 months. I fought each time to effort and marque it shorter but that's conscionable not safe."

Hughes says the roadworthy to betterment from an ACL wounded is tougher than radical realise, but she recovered the hardest happening was not being capable to instantly instrumentality to play astatine the aforesaid standard.

"Obviously, astatine the start, you portion it close backmost to evidently learning to locomotion again, and you conscionable ne'er deliberation that's going to beryllium you," she said.

"You evidently cognize that an ACL wounded plagues the women's crippled successful particular, but you conscionable ne'er deliberation it's going to beryllium you until it's you.

"But I consciousness similar I didn't truly recognize it, I didn't truly judge it until similar 3 oregon 4 months in.

"Everyone is different. For maine the hardest portion for maine was returning due to the fact that I didn't instrumentality the aforesaid arsenic erstwhile I left. And that was hard for maine due to the fact that I conscionable thought I was going to travel backmost successful and beryllium acceptable and firing, but I had conscionable spent the champion portion of a play retired of the game.

"No 1 prepares you for that moment. For maine personally, the hardest portion was coming backmost due to the fact that of the expectations I person for myself."

Hughes says she made it a precedence to effort and assistance her planetary team-mate erstwhile she suffered the aforesaid wounded during pre-season successful 2024.

Ingle's timeline ever meant she would beryllium interaction and spell to beryllium acceptable for Euro 2025 and though she has been named successful Wales' squad, the erstwhile Chelsea midfielder has not played a competitory crippled successful much than a year.

"It was the archetypal clip I was much experienced than Soph astatine something, due to the fact that I was evidently a fewer months ahead," Hughes said.

"I conscionable said to her, like, listen, it's evidently awful.

"I reached retired to Soph astatine the start, similar erstwhile a week. She astir apt thought I was annoying astatine times! And past aft that each month, conscionable to marque definite that she was feeling good, and you cognize that she was feeling positive, due to the fact that sometimes you tin gaffe distant from the positivity.

"You know, it was harder for Soph with her clip frame, and she was successful a spot much of a hurry to travel back, but she has done truly good to bash truthful safely. It is truthful large to person her back."

Now afloat fit, Hughes says she is hopeless to marque her people successful Wales' archetypal large tourney experience.

Rhian Wilkinson's broadside person been drawn successful a daunting radical with England, France and the Netherlands, but Hughes says the Wales squad are already feeling astatine location successful Switzerland and are acceptable to compete.

"It's truly surreal to beryllium here. We got here. The unit that came retired the week earlier we were present person made it a location distant from Wales. Where we are, successful particular, is precise Welsh scenery, truthful we consciousness close astatine location already," she added.

"Honestly, walking successful is conscionable everything we've ever wanted. And present that we're here, we're acceptable to go. We're truly excited.

"Being astatine a large tourney is amazing. It's honestly erstwhile successful a beingness and you tin conscionable archer arsenic soon arsenic we got here, it was a existent pinch-me moment.

"It was 1 of those moments wherever you truly person to beryllium successful the contiguous to admit it. And fto maine archer you, I deliberation that the squad are precise overmuch determination and we're truly enjoying it."