Jess Ziu had hoped for a different debut season at West Ham United Women.
The Republic of Ireland winger was announced as the Club’s first signing of the 2022/23 season, before the previous campaign had even concluded, joining from Shelbourne and signing her first professional contract in east London.
There was a sense of excitement about seeing the 20-year-old in action when the new Barclays Women’s Super league campaign rolled around after showing plenty of promise in pre-season.
After featuring in the first three games of the season, Ziu lined up for the Irons’ first Continental Tyres League Cup group stage match, which would see them face London City Lionesses.
With the match at 1-0 in favour of the Championship side, Ziu was taken out on the byline in what looked to at first be a pretty innocuous challenge, but it soon became apparent that Ziu was hurt.
After being stretchered off, Ziu went for scans and then the news followed.
“I can remember getting the call from our physio the day after I’d had the scan,” Ziu explained to whufc.com. “He said that it was my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and I expected him to stop there, but he didn’t. I’d also done my LCL (Lateral Collateral Ligament) and Meniscus too, so it was a big injury.
“I can remember Izzy (Atkinson) passing me the ball down the line and the ball was about to go out and the girl came and slid into me. My foot got stuck underneath her foot and my right foot planted – I just felt it go out and come back in.
“There was pain for about five or ten seconds, but then the emotions came in. I was meant to be heading off after the game with Izzy for an international game and I was just starting to nail down a place with my country.
“It was a tough start to life here, and a shame to do it so early into my career with West Ham.”
From October, the recovery started for the midfielder, who has been supported throughout by her teammates and the staff at Chadwell Heath.
A popular member of the squad, Ziu highlighted the importance of having people around her when she was in the early stages of her recovery.
“The staff were brilliant with me, I can’t thank our medical team enough for helping me through. All of the staff have been brilliant in fairness, as have my teammates.
“I don’t really get to spend a lot of time with them, even now I’m still working inside whilst they’re out on the grass, which is quite tough. But it makes your appreciate the time you have with the group, sitting at lunch and chatting with everyone is a big thing for me, it makes me feel part of the team.
“The toughest thing for me is gameday, seeing all of the girls in the dressing room getting ready for the game, and then you’re heading off to the physio room or into the stand.
“I’m hoping that when I come back, I can help the team and hopefully be like a new signing, and I’m excited for that.”
Ziu knows that there is still a way to go with her recovery, which will mean a summer spent at Chadwell Heath whilst the rest of her teammates are enjoying the off-season.
But she believes it will all be worth it once the 2023/24 season rolls around and she is back in the Claret & Blue shirt.
“I’m five months post op, and I’m making good progress. The plan is that I’ll be back on the grass mid to late-June and then hopefully I will be ready for when pre-season gets underway.
“That’s obviously the best case scenario, but I’ll be here at Chadwell all the way through summer because I really want to make sure I come back and stay fit,” she concluded.
