New Zealand Football Fern Olivia Chance. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand Football Fern Olivia Chance. Photo / Getty Images
Tauranga-born Liv Chance was lying in her hospital bed, hours after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, when she told her boyfriend how she was going to get back on track.
First up she was going to learn to walk again, and her longer-term targets were to be selected in the Football Ferns squad for the 2019 Fifa World Cup in France and to start every game.
Chance, who had been in and out of the Ferns squad since making her debut in 2011, admits those goals felt like make-believe.
"After my surgery, thinking about playing again felt like an impossible dream," the 27-year-old said.
"It was important to take it a day at a time and set small achievable goals. It was getting off one crutch, and then no crutches, and then walking and then building up to running again."
"Standing in the tunnel before our first game [against the Netherlands] was a surreal and incredible feeling, and without doubt my best moment in football," she said.
"It is that moment that all footballers long for. To be on the world stage representing your friends and family, and your country. There is nothing better. I can't wait to be out there again."
Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni was impressed by Chance's thoroughness, focus and discipline.
"She put everything necessary in place to make a full recovery in as short a time as possible, without cutting corners," he said.
Sermanni described her as a natural leader who would be a vital member on the team in Tokyo.
"One quality that stood out in France was her confidence to back herself and keep looking to get on the ball, even when under pressure.
"She also showed a great willingness to make forward runs and support our strikers. Liv has shown great character and is a real asset to our team."
Liv Chance will give up home comforts for a few weeks when she competes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Photo / Shane Wenzlick, Phototek
Now, two years on, Chance is looking to back up her impressive showings in France at the Tokyo Olympics as the Ferns take on the might of Australia, USA and Sweden.
"It's going to be a huge challenge. We are not favourites, but we know that football is a funny game and anything is possible," she says.
Chance will never forget the moment when she ruptured her ACL and she isn't alone when it comes to suffering this pain.
ACC statistics showed between 2008 and 2017 there was an increase of 120 per cent in the number of girls aged 15 to 19 who had ACL reconstruction surgery.
When asked what she does differently after her ACL injury, Chance replied: "Everything".
"I thought I was invincible when I was young. I thought 'I'll be fine'. Now I take better care of my body. Every time I train and play, I do my pre-activations and I do a dynamic warm-up like the Fifa 11+ warm-up. It is a habit now."
The Fifa 11+ warm-up is a football specific warm-up. ACC supports NZ Football to integrate player welfare and injury prevention into everything they do to ensure players optimise their health and performance.
Chance says the support ACC and High Performance Sport NZ (HPSNZ) offers players in their recoveries from injury is massive.
"To know that they are taking care of you during a really hard time is so important. It can be a lonely journey as a player when you are injured, so it is great to keep connected."
Chance encourages all young women footballers to invest in their bodies. She says get into the habit of warming up properly and doing activations with bands and stretching.
The Football Ferns went down 2-1 to Australia in their opening match of the tournament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
