Midfielder Jess Ziu is licking her lips at the thought of putting on a West Ham United shirt again, as she continues her recovery from her second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Ten months ago, the Republic of Ireland international, who sustained an ACL injury in October 2022, was dealt another blow as she suffered another serious knee injury in a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly in August 2024.
Missing out on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Hammers’ pre-season tour of Australia and this summer’s UEFA Women’s Nations League, as well as the last Barclays Women’s Super League campaign, the past few years have been difficult for Ziu.
But, at just 22 years old, the No16 has shown a tremendous amount of resilience to pick herself up for a second time, and is now nine months post-operation.
Ziu, who joined the Club in March 2022, made her return to the grass in late February, and to say she was put through her paces is an understatement.
“It was tough,” she said. “I just ran, ran, ran, and ran more! There was a lot of running. I had a good laugh with the physios, but it was tough.
"It was quite a lot on my joints but it was good, it made me fitter. It was just nice to be back out there again.
“At the start it’s individual [running] but being back on the pitch with the girls, I was just happy. When my sessions were done, I’d watch the girls. Even when some of the girls had finished training, they would come and do some of the running with me. It comes down to all of that support, it really helps having good teammates.
“I was in the gym for the whole of winter, and on the pitch for all of summer, so it was nice.”
Towards the end of the 2024/25 season, which saw Rehanne Skinner’s side finish ninth in the WSL standings - bettering their 2023/24 points total by eight - Ziu was introduced back into the team's training sessions, back with the ball at her feet and even involved in some contact drills.
She said: “I did a week of training with the girls, contact. It felt good, but now I’m on my own at the minute doing a lot with the physios. We’re getting there.
“I was doing one-v-ones with some of the girls and Princess [Ademiluyi] went to take a shot, and I put my foot out, blocked the shot and my ankle went crazy. One of the girls said to me, ‘did you see the way your ankle went?’. I said, ‘no, I didn’t’.
“When you’re watching, you’re thinking, ‘what if I do my knee again?’, but once you’re on the pitch, all of those thoughts leave your head, so it was nice being back with the girls.”
Putting on the Claret and Blue colours again is something that has been driving Ziu over the past ten months - a goal she is fixated on - and, hopefully, that moment will not be too far away.
“I’m so excited to put the jersey on,” she added.
“I’m really excited to be back in the dressing room, with the vibes, the warm-up, doing all the small things that people probably take for granted. Having done both of my knees, I don’t take anything for granted anymore.
“I’m just excited to walk into the stadium with the girls and just be present. It’ll be exciting.”
