Aoife Mannion is all too familiar with the devastating impact injury can have, but also the mental resilience it can build.
In the face of yesterday’s announcement that fellow Irish WNT player Jamie Finn had suffered an ACL injury in training while they were amid preparations to take on Italy tonight, the Manchester United centre back will no doubt be a sounding board for her in the coming weeks and months.
Niamh Fahey, Aoife Mannion, Megan Campbell, Jess Ziu, Leanne Kiernan and Amber Barrett all return to Ireland WNT squad.
Call-up for English-born Emily Murphy, trained with the squad back in 2021.
Chloe Mustaki injured, Tara O’Hanlon & Sinead Farrelly on return to play protocols https://t.co/QoCb405qz7— Emma Duffy (@emmaduffy_) February 15, 2024
Mannion herself missed out on World Cup selection too, even revealing that she had one last ditch in person conversation with Vera Pauw, the manager at the time, in the days leading up to the squad selection.
“I was in a knee brace and basically I was waiting for that to come off,” she says.
“We thought at that point that it would be four weeks and it ended up being six, which doesn’t sound like a lot but, in the run-up to the World Cup, two weeks is a lot of time.
“The day I got the brace off was a couple of days before the manager was going to be announcing her squad.
“I flew over and spoke to her, we had a really good and long conversation in a studio apartment in UCD and at the end of that the selection decision was made.”
However, Mannion did go to the Australia and New Zealand World Cup, albeit as a fan rather than out there on the pitch.
Recalling that time, she describes how much she was pleasantly surprised with the experience.
“I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it that much but I ended up having a really amazing time actually and I feel really grateful that I was able to go watch the games,” she says.
Best wishes to @AoifeMannion_, who could represent the Republic of Ireland after her return to full fitness 💪#MUWomen pic.twitter.com/wmsWFYa31G
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) February 23, 2024
Aoife Mannion looking for a fresh start
Now looking to reignite her Ireland career and extinguish those injury woes, Aoife Mannion is looking forward to a “fresh start” under new Ireland WNT head coach Eileen Gleeson.
With that said though, her “heart went a bit low” when she got a call from her new boss this week.
“Eileen gave me a call last Wednesday…Usually in football when you see a name on the phone it’s not good news,” she says.
“Usually the positive news is more run of the mill — an email or text…I thought she’s obviously letting me know that maybe I’ve not been picked.
“If you ask her about my reaction, she’ll tell you I was surprised and pleased. On the back of the year I’ve had, I’m really happy.”
Having been out of camp for 10 months, the 28 year old will no doubt be looking to build upon her two caps to date, and will surely be helped along by her fellow teammates, some of whom are also coming back from injury themselves.
💬 Coming up in our feature interview with @AoifeMannion_:
➖ Helping to set up a girls team
➖ How sport can help our mental health
➖ Working with the @MU_Foundation#MUWomen pic.twitter.com/HsVA3Vowst— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) February 14, 2024
West Ham’s Jess Ziu has returned to the squad this camp after recovering from an ACL injury herself, and with Liverpool duo Niamh Fahey and Leanne Kiernan also looking to hit the ground running on their recovery , they’re all in this together in the fact of footballing life that is the injury, and more importantly, the comeback.
“Injuries and football are really, really difficult and most players unfortunately at some point in their career will experience that,” Mannion explains.
"It's really difficult, but everyone is going through something like that in their career. Unfortunately for me, there's been a few in quite recent succession and this camp for me is about looking forward now and trying to appreciate things, take each day as it comes and get my head down and work.
"My main focus for these two games is putting down building blocks towards the qualifiers [which start in April]. I feel fit and available so don’t see this as a return-to-play camp. I’m fit and ready to go."
Aspiring to do just that, and with her fingers crossed for an “uneventful 2024”, lets hope that’s the case.
