After almost a year out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, West Ham United women’s team midfielder Jess Ziu made her return to the pitch earlier this week.
The Republic of Ireland international came on as a 75th-minute substitute in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Charlton Athletic at Chigwell Construction Stadium, and was welcomed back to cheers from every single one of her teammates and staff members.
This was not the first ACL injury Ziu had sustained, as she spent 13 months on the sidelines from October 2022, just three months after she joined the Club - making it an even tougher journey back to the pitch this time around.
West Ham TV followed her road to recovery from the start, capturing exclusive behind-the-scenes footage as well as speaking to her teammates to depict how much resilience the 23-year-old has shown to pick herself up and go again - again.
But her hard work and determination was rewarded under the lights in east London earlier this week, and Ziu couldn’t put into words her emotions after the full-time whistle.
“It’s hard to pinpoint one word to describe how I’m feeling,” she said. “It’s been a long eleven-and-a-bit months, but I’ve had amazing people around me the whole way, so I’m really excited, a bit scared, but getting back on the pitch just helped me.
“I think I’m quite good at masking my feelings. I probably don’t show them a lot, but I think this ACL injury, compared to my first one, has been a lot harder [to recover from].
“It was my other knee, so it was quite hard coming back from that and getting over certain barriers. But look, I’m eleven-and-a-half months post operation, and like I said, I had amazing people around me. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.
“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get here, but I’m just really proud of myself and everyone around me for helping me get here.
“Rehanne [Skinner] has been a big part of my recovery. She pulled me to the side and said, ‘Go on and enjoy it. No pressure, just go out there and get some minutes’.
“When I ran onto the pitch, I looked at the scoreboard and the game was over just like that! I know you have to build up your minutes when it comes to an ACL injury and it’s the start of my return, so I’m looking forward to more minutes in the future.”
Although the game was played behind closed doors, it felt like there was a crowd in attendance at Chigwell Construction Stadium, as when Ziu entered proceedings, a huge cheer erupted. And after the friendly against the Addicks, in the Hammers’ post-match huddle, Ziu was lifted into the air by her teammates, with smiles beaming on everyone’s faces. They know how hard she has worked to get to this point.
“When I came on, it felt like I had no teammates, but I just had fans around me!” Ziu laughed.
“It was amazing. The cheer from all the girls and to see how happy they were, they’ve been with me from the start. They’re like my family, I see these girls every single day. Having them made it much easier.
“Everyone that comes here says we’re a big family, and I think they’re right. We’ve got such a close group of girls and staff, everyone plays a massive role at the Club, and I think that shows on the pitch as well as off the pitch. I’m looking forward to building on that.”
