Overcoming the bumps on the road to recovery

As Aisling Feely remembers the guts of a year spent on the sideline, it is clear that the Boyle woman has learned plenty about herself, both on and off the field.

After suffering a MCL (medial collateral ligament) injury during Roscommon’s league game against Clare in February 2024, Feely was ruled out for two months. As Roscommon continued to impress that spring and subsequently progress through to the league final exactly two months later, it appeared from the outside that she had recovered quickly, getting herself, and her knee, into shape to handle the rigours of a league final.

Feely convinced herself that this was the case, but the UCD student lasted just 13 minutes before limping off in Birr.

Although the pain was not as sharp and immediate as her initial MCL injury, the prognosis was much worse. She had damaged her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), endured a grade three MCL tear alongside also suffering two tears in her meniscus.

In Lehmann’s term, she had endured a horrific set of injuries to her knee.

Now, as she reflects on that period of turbulence, she admits that she had pushed herself too far in the hope of playing in arguably the biggest game of her burgeoning intercounty career.

“I knew going in (to the league final) that I was pushing my luck. I was in a lot of pain, but I wasn’t letting on.

“I was really enjoying my football with Roscommon that year. The year before (her debut season), I was riddled with nerves. That year, we were such a tight-knit group. Those Roscommon girls were all my best friends, and my confidence was high before the first injury.

“You go from seeing everyone all the time to rehabbing, and that is really tough. I just wanted to get back out there. This was my biggest game for Roscommon and, by hook or by crook I wanted to play the game.

“The minute it happened, I knew. I had flirted with the line too much,” she noted.

Such is the cruel nature of sport, but the show went on without her. As Roscommon came up short in the Connacht final last year before narrowly being defeated by eventual All-Ireland champions Leitrim in the All-Ireland quarter final, Feely was forced to watch from afar.

She endured months of rehab and was left to deal with the fears that come with such a nasty set of injuries. The recovery process was a long and, at times, lonely experience.

“It is a long stint, and it is very isolating. In the beginning when you have your crutches and your knee is swollen like a balloon, it’s black and blue and everyone can see when there’s something wrong.

“It’s the middle stage when you look fine and you are able to walk without crutches, and people are asking when are you coming back? The reality is that you know that you’re only in month four out of 12. That’s the hardest part.

“It gets lonely. Then the doubts creep in about whether you will ever get back to where you were. Will I ever just be able to get on a pitch and will I ever be able to get back to that level? It’s not a very nice place to be.

“Having talked to Jenny (Shine), Erin (Hagan) and Caoimhe Lennon (players who had suffered similiar injuries), we all felt the same way when we got chatting about it.

“It is emotional. It is so prevalent, and you think it won’t happen to you until it does. Then, when it does happen, it can be all you think about. Mentally and physically, it was a really exhausting year,” she reflected.

In a strange twist of fate, Feely’s first game back came on April 6th of this year against Kilbride in the second round of the league. The Boyle woman had last played exactly one year earlier against Clare in that league final.

Consequently, Feely believes her approach to the game has changed during that 12-month period.

“Because I spent so long out, I can play with the shackles off. I know what it is like to have everything stripped away from you in one half of football. Anytime you come off the pitch injury-free is a good day, regardless of whether you played well or not.

“I would be a very deep thinker. If I didn’t play well on a Sunday, I would carry that with me the whole week. I would be miserable to be around. If I had a bad game on the Sunday, then I would be in the gym on Monday at the crack of dawn before college.

“I was probably overdoing it. Having the year out made me appreciate the recovery aspect. To be at 100 per cent, you need to give your body the rest it needs.

“During the week I would really struggle to switch off from football. If I had a big game on the Sunday, all I would think about was who would be marking me and think ‘oh jeez, she’s very good.’ I was almost defeating myself in my own mind before I even did the warm-up,” she stated.

Feely, who is currently on work experience at the Department of Agriculture in Wexford, admits that the support of her friends and family has been pivotal in her recovery.

“I would say my parents (Odran and Pauline) are delighted to see me back because some games after being water girl I was terrible to be around. I would be annoyed at a result and that I couldn’t get out there. They love nothing more than travelling the country, going to Tyrone or Clare or wherever for a football match.

“They are very proud of how far I have come from last May to now. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without their support.” Support from team-mates has also been plentiful.

“The Boyle girls are the best to play with. They got me to see that I am so much more than just a player to them. They are my friends. They like spending time with me regardless whether I can kick the ball in a game. It helps too to know I have the 100 per cent backing of my team no matter what.

“If I have had to step out of a training, which I have had to during the league, or take a Wednesday off, they have been so supportive. I’ve learned that there is so much more to any one player than football, so I have a lot to thank my team-mates for,” she concluded.

With Aisling Feely back firing on all cylinders, her club and county are set to yield a rich harvest.