England midfielder Ella Toone said she didn't "actually grieve" aft the decease of her begetter until a play connected the sidelines done wounded forced her to get "mentally right".
Nick Toone was diagnosed with prostate crab the time aft the Lionesses bushed Germany to triumph Euro 2022, wherever his girl scored the opening goal.
He passed distant successful September 2024, 3 days earlier his 60th birthday.
Manchester United's Women's Super League run got nether mode conscionable 2 weeks aboriginal and Toone started each league crippled for them until suffering a calf wounded successful training successful November.
Toone hadn't scored successful six games earlier her wounded and successful her ain words had mislaid her emotion for the game.
"I had conscionable mislaid my dada earlier the play started," the 25-year-old told The Tooney & Russo Show.
"I played connected aft that and astir apt wasn't enjoying it arsenic overmuch arsenic I should person been. I would ne'er person told myself that oregon admitted it due to the fact that each I ever wanted to bash was play shot for him.
"When it really got taken retired of my hands it made maine realise, 'right, I bash request this, I bash request to measurement distant from shot and get myself mentally close much than anything'. I needed to person that emotion for the crippled again and miss it."
Toone's clip distant from the transportation allowed her to physically and mentally absorption connected herself.
She started speaking to a counsellor and spent clip successful Dubai with her spouse Joe portion undergoing rehab.
"At archetypal I didn't miss it," she added. "I was doing my rehab, I was enjoying being successful the gym and getting stronger. It was the champion happening I could person done to get myself mentally close and really grieve.
"I don't deliberation I grieved, I don't deliberation I thought that it was real."
After 9 weeks out, Toone was backmost with a bang.
She scored six goals successful her archetypal 5 games backmost for United, including a stunning hat-trick against rivals Manchester City.
"When I was backmost connected the writer and astir the girls I was similar 'I miss it' and that's erstwhile I knew I was acceptable to footwear on," Toone said.
"I came backmost and started playing good and scoring goals. Then my emotion for the crippled truly grew and I wasn't putting arsenic overmuch unit connected myself arsenic I was earlier successful wanting to bash everything and wanting to people for dad, reasoning I'm ne'er going to people again.
"It was cleanable timing and present it's astir not falling again. It's hard successful shot due to the fact that you are up and down each the clip anyway."
Toone is presently connected planetary work arsenic England hole to look Portugal and Spain successful the Nations League.
Her erstwhile United team-mate, champion person and podcast spouse Alessia Russo, who present plays for Arsenal, drove to Manchester erstwhile she heard of Nick's passing.
"From surviving unneurotic to past being truthful acold distant down successful London was hard anyway," Russo said. "When thing arsenic dense arsenic that happens, each I wanted to bash was beryllium there.
"Whether she wanted maine determination oregon not I didn't truly care. I conscionable wanted to beryllium there, to beryllium with her, to outcry with her, to devour with her, to effort and marque her laughter and to assistance with thing she needed.
"It's truthful hard being distant from idiosyncratic astatine a clip similar that. As soon arsenic I could I wanted to spell and spot her. I cognize Tooney would driblet thing to assistance maine if I needed her, large oregon small."
Russo was 1 of a fig of Toone's team-mates from some nine and state who rallied astir her successful the acheronian times.
"Everyone came together," Toone added. "They person been amazing, my team-mates arsenic well, conscionable being normal, not pottering astir maine oregon not knowing what to say.
"When it was the ceremonial it was unbelievable to spot the magnitude of radical there. I had the girls coming up from London, I had Georgia [Stanway] flying implicit from Germany.
"I had each these radical coming and I thought, 'wow, I americium truthful fortunate to person these people' oregon other what would I person done?"
A hard play connected and disconnected the transportation for Toone ended with an awesome 8 goals and 4 assists.
Each clip she recovered the backmost of the net, she pointed to the entity to observe with her dad.
"It's hard due to the fact that everyone is bittersweet that time and talks astir memories and it's done past for everyone. But for america it's inactive truthful hard.
"I've been blessed with a batch of bully radical astir maine and decidedly couldn't person got done it without them. Now I conscionable privation to support kicking connected and doing things close and making him proud."
Season Two of the Tooney and Russo Show drops connected BBC Sounds and YouTube connected Friday 30 May, with caller episodes each Monday and Friday.
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