When athletes step foot on the field they are putting their bodies on the line to show the top abilities they have. However, this component of the game comes with a risk of injury that could lead to a long recovery process.  

Junior, Sharon Ngibuini, has played soccer for seven years and has just recently went through an experience leading to a long road ahead of her.  

“I injured my knee on July 19th at my club team’ soccer practice,” Ngibuini said. “I went to dive for another shot and the lower part of my body went down first instead of diving with full momentum, causing my knee to turn and pop very loudly four times.”

An injury is something that takes a toll on the body and can completely stop a function that we would use every single day.

“With tearing both my ACL and Meniscus, I lost complete motion and lacked the capability to bend my knee easily,” Ngibuini said. “With each physical therapy session, which I’m going to 5 days a week, I am given certain exercises to gain back all of my muscle and strength.”

Ngibuini is one of the 1.35 million that get injured every year playing a sport, but she is not the only one are WRHS. Junior, Taylor Brunton, has also been injured playing soccer  recently and shares the same optimism as Ngibuini to recover quickly.

“The first month is a very slow recovery because you have to work on bending your knee and then work on straightening it as well” Brunton said. “But I am hoping I will be able to play in the upcoming season.”

With both of their seasons fast approaching, it is a race to recover as that is the longest process of an injury.  Recovery time can vary from person to person based on the severity of the injury.

“The average time to recover is 6 months,” Brunton said. “I hope to recover earlier though to get into soccer shape.”

As recovery is in progress, it is common to have an end goal in mind. Brunton hopes to get back to the place she way prior to the injury.

“I will definitely have to work hard to get back the skill level I had before I injured my knee,” Brunton said. “I first will have to be in shape to be as fast as all the other girls. Then I will need to be able to gain all the muscle I have lost to kick the ball as far as I could. I also need to make sure that I am not scared to go into a tackle with another player. “

With many things changing due to injury it takes a lot of mental strength to get through this process and get back to loving the sport to show off your abilities once healed. Although this can seem like a long period of time, it is needed to allow player to return to the game and more importantly have the confidence to once again put their bodies on the line.