‘I try and put a front on. I don’t let anyone know that I’m upset’: Hearts’ Carly Girasoli’s ACL story

Published by

Jack McRae

on

29th Oct 2024

^{_{Photograph: Calum Mackenzie (Instagram: @hmfcalum)}}

Carly Girasoli woke up and knew instantly that something was not right. She recalls her panic: “I couldn’t move my leg. I was in so much pain and I knew I’d done something.”

Twelve hours earlier, the Hearts Women defender had chased a loose Motherwell ball sent down the line. Georgia Timms and Joely Andrews had the side 2-0 up and cruising with just ten seconds of the first-half to see out when Girasoli “stretched and got the ball, but the striker’s hit into me, I’ve done a spin and my leg has been planted on the floor.”

It was not obvious initially, but Girasoli had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

“It was really sore at first but then, after a minute or two, the pain went away,” Girasoli remembers. “I thought I was fine. The referee blew the half-time whistle and I walked into the changing room, ready to play again. But we were playing Hibs [Hearts’ rivals Hibernian] the next Friday and so my manager said to me, ‘Just rest and you’ll be fine for Friday.’”

Still unsure what had happened to her, Girasoli watched back the incident that night and it became clear that it was not just an innocuous collision. “I realised we didn’t actually clash knees and then I thought I’ve done something a lot worse here.”

A scan on Tuesday revealed the bitter, inconceivable truth. “I was just like, ‘Are you sure?’ The physio was devastated as well, she didn’t think it was my ACL either. Then the realisation hit that I wouldn’t be playing again for at least another ten months to a year.”

Aged just 22, Girasoli has found it difficult to process her career’s first major setback and struggles to share her emotions. Her internal torment is evident as she carefully pulls back the curtain on a period that has been “really tough. I think with me, I try and put a front on. I don’t let anyone know that I’m upset or anything.

“Those first few weeks, being in and around training was quite hard. Being around everyone where they are getting out to training and I’m just going to the gym because I couldn’t do anything else. It’s been really, really, really difficult.”

*^{Girasoli is the 21st SWPL player to injure her ACL since the start of the 2022/23 season. Photograph: Calum Mackenzie (Instagram: @hmfcalum)}*

Girasoli knows she is not alone and finds comfort and inspiration in Georgia Hunter — the Hearts captain who sustained an injury to her ACL against Rangers last season.

“Geo did hers five months before me. She is still in rehab and she’s been good with me, talking me through everything. She understands what I’ve been through because she’s been through it herself,” Girasoli says. “I can’t thank her enough, because she’s really, really helped me through this.”

Girasoli and Hunter are just two of the hundreds in women’s football suffering with ACL injuries. Girasoli became the 21st player in the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) to suffer the injury since the start of the 2022/23 season. Every side currently in the SWPL has had a player sidelined by an ACL injury in that period.

The frequency and severity of the injury in the women’s game also affects the players psychologically. “I think even before I’d done it, I had the fear of that [injury] happening because it happens so much,” Girasoli says with exasperation. “Every weekend, you just see another one, another one, another one. When is this going to end? It’s devastating.”

Did this affect how she played before the injury?

Girasoli insists that “on the pitch, that never even crossed my mind once, you are just out to play.”

But she admits, “off the pitch, and subconsciously, it’s definitely in everyone’s mind.”

Girasoli is desperate to return to the pitch as soon as she can – particularly with Hearts in contention to win the league. “We’re doing so well this season, we’ve brought in some amazing players, and we can push to even finish in the top two, top three, or even win the league. Why not?”

Despite her eyes already being set on a return to action next season, Girasoli knows she cannot rush her recovery as the possibility of a re-rupture remains a concern.

“There’s always that in my mind. When you come back from an injury, there’s always something else that’s probably wrong because you’re not used to that much load. Obviously, the fear is doing it again, but I’m not at that moment yet to really think about it,” she says.

*^{Girasoli’s stitches following surgery on her injured knee. Photograph: Carly Girasoli}*

With her stitches now removed, and surgery allowing her knee a degree of motion, the young defender is itching to get back to full fitness. She knows there is a lot of work ahead before her dreams of playing again in the Champions League and the chance to represent Scotland at senior level are achieved.

Most importantly, Girasoli will not let her injury hold her back when she does return. She speaks excitedly about the prospect of once again being able to “forget everything and just fly into tackles.”

She grins. “Hopefully, I’ll just be the same.”

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