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My battle to get fit for the game against Cardiff on Sunday ended after my late fitness test on Sunday morning.
 I was so gutted I wanted to help the girls get into the semi final but instead I had to watch them from the sidelines and the only thing I could do was cheer for them all. It was a convincing win 5-1 and all the girls were fantastic. I was really pleased for Steph Houghton who has struggled with injury during the first part of the season which put her out of the World Cup. On Sunday she was the star of the show scoring a hat trick and absolutely bossing the midfield. I am going to have to work really hard to try and get my place back in the side for the semi final. The next game is against our rivals Everton. Bring ‘em on!!
I also want to say a massive well done to our young defender Gemma Bonner. She received the Young Sports Person of the year in Leeds, which is a great achievement, and a well deserved one. She recently moved up to the Leeds first team from the under 16’s and has done fantastically well. She plays for the England Under 17’s and had also been with the under 19’s a number of times. She has a lot of potential and all I can say is Faye White watch your back. A massive talking point this week has been the injury to Eduardo. It is horrific for him and his teammates and he must be in a very low place at the moment. As for the tackle I do believe it was greatly miss timed and the studs seemed to be high. However no player would deliberately go in to hurt another professional in this way. I am sure Martin Taylor is distraught himself thinking what he has done and I think it will be a long time before he gets over it. I know how Eduardo is feeling. In 2002 I was playing in a practice match and was through on the keeper. As I shot the ball re-bounded and as my foot was in the air I landed on top of the ball, I managed to dislocate my ankle and break my leg all in 1 go. It was a freak accident and no one was to blame. I remember looking down at the state of my leg and thinking that’s it. However, my surgeon was fantastic and never once said I wouldn’t play again, he was very positive with what he had done and I surrounded myself with positive people who all helped me get through the toughest time in my career. My family probably bore the brunt of it, I was used to training everyday and playing matches and suddenly I couldn’t do anything and I was in bed for a few weeks so as you can guess I was a little grumpy. I was out of action for 6 months, which was less time than they predicted. On my return it just made me very grateful to be playing again and I enjoyed my sport much more and it give me a massive reality check that I wasn’t invincible and your career can be take away from you at any time. Eduardo needs to stay positive and I am sure he will receive a lot of support from Arsenal and friends and family. I wish him all the best and hope to see this naturally gifted player playing again. |
