Toni Duggan is ready and raring to get back on the pitch after her World Cup injury setback.
The 27-year-old, who is hoping for her first appearance of France 2019 when England take on Japan in Nice in their final Group D game on Wednesday, opened up about how an athlete copes with picking up an injury on the eve of a tournament.
“It was so difficult,” she said.
“I’ve got a smile on my face because I’m back fit, so that’s good. That’s a positive, but I’m not going to lie, it’s really difficult as a player, as a sportsperson.
“Any athlete will tell you that it’s the most difficult time in the world being injured.”
Duggan suffered a thigh injury within the first day of arriving in France, after being rested for the pre-tournament friendly against Denmark as it came soon after her appearance for Barcelona in the Champions League final, and it has kept her out of the opening two group games, against Scotland and Argentina.
“I didn’t expect it,” she said. “You can imagine [my] emotions. You just want to get out to France and be excited to start and then you pick up an injury.
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“I was really disappointed but I tried to support the girls in any way that I could. If I can’t input on the pitch then I’m going to input off the pitch.
“We’ve had a lot of the girls playing their first World Cup and some of them are my closest friends, [players like] Abbie McManus and Nikita Parris.
“So to try and help them, get them ready and prepared for the first game, that’s where I’ve kind of found my comfort. So hopefully I’ve had an input in that way but now I’m itching and ready to get out on the pitch.”
As well as finding ways and means to help her friends out, Duggan has had the support of head coach Phil Neville and his backroom staff.
“We have a psychologist on board,” she explained. “She’s there if you want to use her, and if you don’t want to use her it’s up to you. I had a little chat with her.
“Phil’s been amazing. That’s one of the biggest positives I can say about him. His man management skills have been unbelievable.
“That was there the other night for everyone to see when he handled Carly [Telford] and Fran [Kirby] amazingly, and he has been the same with me with my injury.
“He puts an arm around you as he’s been there as a player and it means the world. It shows how much he cares about the players and he has helped me through the injury so hopefully I can now repay him on the pitch.”
Duggan had further words of praise for the Lionesses’ boss, who has guided his team to the top of Group D.
“He’s really emotional and sentimental. It’s nice to see that side of him.
“He’s a man of very high standards and you can see why he got to the top because you don’t always get to the top by being really nice.
“He has demanded a lot from us as players but we have taken it in our strides.
“Now we just need to carry on showing the world like we did in the first two games.”
