It has been a long road to recovery for West Ham United Women’s forward Adriana Leon.
The Canadian forward has suffered two serious foot injuries, sandwiching her success at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games last summer.
Leon’s strength and hard work during both of her recovery periods meant that she was able to celebrate that triumph in Tokyo with her international teammates and most recently, making appearance number 50 for the Hammers against Reading in our last outing.
Sitting down with West Ham TV to reflect on her journey on International Women’s Day 2022, Leon discussed the mental strength she needed to find following her first injury over 12 months ago…
How do you reflect on the last year?
“It has been a roller coaster in the last 10 to 12 months. You never want to go through to two injuries in such a short space of time.
“The first one happened back in February 2021, at the She Believes Cup. I remember coming back to London, from the US and getting a scan done and figuring out pretty quickly that I had fractured my foot and that I needed surgery to fix it.
“The problem at the time was I didn't have much time on my hands with the Olympics just around the corner. I’ve been pretty fortunate with injuries in my career. I haven’t had many and this was definitely the first serious one.
“During my rehab, I was doing what I could as I wanted to stay in shape as much as possible and I didn't really want to take too much time off, even after going through a surgery.
“It was a lot of gym work, not taking many days off, and always doing the most that your body allows you to do so it was definitely tough.”
The hard work paid off though…
“It really paid off in the end! I made the Canada squad and we won an Olympic gold medal, which was incredible. The most incredible experience of my career and probably will always be a high for me, and I don't regret it.
“I put in the work to make it happen and it paid off in the end.”
What went through your mind when the injury reoccurred at the end of pre-season?
“That was not fun. But from February 2021 to when I came back, I didn't really take much time off and I think I realised once the injury reoccurred that I really only took probably four days off after the Olympics.
“That wasn't enough for my body and I definitely learned to listen to my body more.
“The word that comes to mind is ‘frustrating’. Having done the first injury in February and then going through to the Olympics, I only took a few days off after the tournament and I think that really hurt me.”
How did you make sure you came back stronger the second time?
“I think we learned a few things from the last time and obviously we look to improve. With the scheduling I was able to get back to being back in the gym. It felt like I was going through déjà vu and doing things again.
“Some days were definitely tough. Mentally I felt drained and exhausted, but there was, of course, the better days. I had a great support system around me here at the club, and I definitely couldn't have gotten through without the medical staff . They've been really great.”
How important were your family and friends in that time?
“I had the surgery here in London and spent the first four weeks here, then I had the opportunity to go back home and spend some time with my family and some friends. It was really nice to have that balance, and then to come back here and continue the work.
“It was also great to have the Canadian staff involved with my rehab process and they were working together with the club as well. So, I had all the support around me, which was really great. It definitely helped me through everything.”
How important have your teammates and the female backroom team been in your recovery?
“They've been there for me every day. It's nice to have that support. They're strong, independent women that show a good example, and they are great to have by your side.”
Reflecting on the Olympics, how proud are you of how you helped inspire the next generation?
“I think that's our hope as a professional athlete as we inspire the younger generation, because those are the ones that are going to come next.
“We want kids to pick up a football and start kicking around and we hope that our performances did that at the Olympics and inspired the younger generation.”
