Revitalized Ellie Carpenter Believes ACL Injury Saved Her From Burning Out

On Wednesday evening, Australian Ellie Carpenter will play her first UEFA Women’s Champions League match since she went down injured with a rupture of her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in last season’s final. Out for eight months, she feels her break may have been a salvation which will benefit her career.

The first player born in the 21st century to represent her country at senior international level, Carpenter has been at the pinnacle of the game since the age of 15. Still only 22, she is a ‘veteran’ of two Olympic Games, a World Cup and is the only Australian in history to win two Champions League medals.

Yet, a month after returning to action, Carpenter told me that she believes her ACL injury may have been “a blessing in disguise”. “Honestly, I think it was the best thing that’s happened to me. I really needed this break. I was very fatigued, I’ve played a lot – a lot – of football in the last year and a half. I was just on the verge of burnt out really.”

“The injury came and obviously it was disappointing but at the same time, it was the perfect time for me to reset, get stronger, have a rest, have an off-season that I never really have had. I think I really, really needed it and I think I’m better from it. I think I’m more refreshed. I feel better on the pitch than ever before. As much as I never want a long-term injury, I think it was a blessing in disguise.”

On Wednesday, Carpenter’s Lyon will face the English champions, Chelsea in an eagerly-anticipated match-up. The first leg at the Groupama Stadium has sold over 22,000 tickets and extra seating blocks were put on sale over the weekend, such has been the demand in Lyon to watch the game.

The Australian right-back will go head-to-head against Norwegian Guro Reiten, the leading assist provider in the English Women’s Super League and UEFA Champions League this season. The pair came up against each other in the knockout stages of the last FIFA Women’s World Cup and Carpenter has nothing but respect for Reiten’s ability.

“She’s a great player. For me, she’s one of the best wingers. She has a great left foot. Obviously, her and Sam Kerr up top, it’s a great striking force. I think for myself, I obviously love coming up against great players, it makes you better so yeah, I’m looking forward to the battle.”

Stopping her Australian team-mate Kerr, could be the key to winning the tie for Lyon. “Sam for me, is one of the best strikers in the world”, Carpenter told me. “She’s fast, she can score really at any moment. She’s very dangerous so to keep her off the ball as much as possible, stop her runs in behind, I think will be crucial.”

Carpenter joined Lyon in 2020 and was an unused substitute as Lyon won the UEFA Champions League final behind closed doors against VfL Wolfsburg. Two years later, she started the final against defending champions FC Barcelona but was floored within ten minutes and substituted shortly afterwards. As Lyon scored their decisive second and third goals before half-time, Carpenter was on the sidelines and the post-match images of her racing around on crutches with her left leg strapped up were one of the abiding memories of Lyon’s record-breaking eighth European title.

Carpenter told me “I did witness the goals, which was really nice, I was celebrating as much as everyone else. I didn’t really think about my injury or my knee you know. I knew that was done, I knew I did something bad. I was just in the moment and celebrating with the team.”

In Lyon’s team that night were goalscorer Ada Hegerberg and Carpenter’s girlfriend Daniëlle van der Donk, both of whom returned to play in the final after suffering their own ACL injuries, a source of inspiration for the Australian. “People have come back stronger, people have come back better. I knew this was a time for me to work on myself. They kept saying ‘ you will come back stronger, you will love the game again more, you’ll feel refreshed’, I really felt that.”

It is no surprise that following eight months of rehabilitation, Carpenter feels different in her own body. “Having rehab every day, you build so much more muscle, physically as well, you’re in the gym every day. For me, I honestly feel stronger than before on the ball, on the field and faster as well, which is also really cool. I was kind of already fast, but I feel faster now, which is a good sign!”

For Lyon, who were decimated by injuries at the start of the season to not only Carpenter, but captain Wendie Renard, Women’s Champions League record goalscorer, Hegerberg, and United States international Catarina Macario, even reaching the quarter-finals looked unlikely after a 5-1 trouncing at home against Arsenal in September.

With Hegerberg on the verge of returning to action, Lyon back on top of the league and through to the French Cup final, Carpenter believes the European champions are once more poised to peak at the business end of the season. “I think we had some up and downs during the season so far. We’ve had a lot of injuries early on last year. We had to grind out results sometimes, even if it wasn’t pretty. I think the players that were playing did the job in the end and qualified for the quarter-finals. Now we have most people back from injury, we have a very strong very squad. In this last part of the season, everyone’s feeling fresh and really, really ready to go.”