Euro 2025 kept Wales' Hughes hungry during ACL recovery

Wales striker Elise Hughes says the worry of missing out on Euro 2025 kept her motivated during the "bad times", as she recovered from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery.

The 24-year-old Crystal Palace striker returned to action in February after missing nine months of football following the knee injury.

Wales cap centurion Sophie Ingle has also returned to the squad after suffering the same injury, while goalkeeper Laura O'Sullivan, defender Mayzee Davies and midfielder Megan Wynne have all been ruled out of the tournament in Switzerland after ACL surgery.

World governing body Fifa is funding research into whether hormonal fluctuations during menstrual cycles could be contributing to the rise in ACL injuries in women's football.

The year-long study at Kingston University London began in June.

Research suggests female footballers are two to six times more likely to suffer the injuries than their male counterparts.

Hughes, who was the top goalscorer in the Championship when she suffered her injury, is now hoping to make a big impact with Wales as they compete in their first major tournament.

Hughes had just sealed promotion with Palace when she suffered her ACL injury, but attention quickly turned to Wales.

"Obviously the injury at the time was really bad. It came in a season for me that I thought I did really well in," Hughes told BBC Sport Wales.

"I returned in February already knowing that the girls had qualified for us, and so then it was just an added motivation to be back and to be better and to be ready for the stage this summer.

"I was out for nine months. I fought every day to try and make it shorter but that's just not safe."

Hughes says the road to recovery from an ACL injury is tougher than people realise, but she found the hardest thing was not being able to immediately return to play at the same standard.

"Obviously, at the start, you strip it right back to obviously learning to walk again, and you just never think that's going to be you," she said.

"You obviously know that an ACL injury plagues the women's game in particular, but you just never think it's going to be you until it's you.

"But I feel like I didn't really understand it, I didn't really accept it until like three or four months in.

"Everyone is different. For me the hardest part for me was returning because I didn't return the same as when I left. And that was hard for me because I just thought I was going to come back in and be fit and firing, but I had just spent the best part of a season out of the game.

"No one prepares you for that moment. For me personally, the hardest part was coming back because of the expectations I have for myself."

Hughes says she made it a priority to try and help her international team-mate when she suffered the same injury during pre-season in 2024.

Ingle's timeline always meant she would be touch and go to be fit for Euro 2025 and although she has been named in Wales' squad, the former Chelsea midfielder has not played a competitive game in more than a year.

"It was the first time I was more experienced than Soph at something, because I was obviously a few months ahead," Hughes said.

"I just said to her, like, listen, it's obviously awful.

"I reached out to Soph at the start, like once a week. She probably thought I was annoying at times! And then after that every month, just to make sure that she was feeling good, and you know that she was feeling positive, because sometimes you can slip away from the positivity.

"You know, it was harder for Soph with her time frame, and she was in a bit more of a hurry to come back, but she has done really well to do so safely. It is so great to have her back."

Now fully fit, Hughes says she is desperate to make her mark in Wales' first major tournament experience.

Rhian Wilkinson's side have been drawn in a daunting group with England, France and the Netherlands, but Hughes says the Wales squad are already feeling at home in Switzerland and are ready to compete.

"It's really surreal to be here. We got here. The staff that came out the week before we were here have made it a home away from Wales. Where we are, in particular, is very Welsh scenery, so we feel right at home already," she added.

"Honestly, walking in is just everything we've ever wanted. And now that we're here, we're ready to go. We're really excited.

"Being at a major tournament is amazing. It's honestly once in a lifetime and you can just tell as soon as we got here, it was a real pinch-me moment.

"It was one of those moments where you really have to be in the present to appreciate it. And let me tell you, I think that the squad are very much there and we're really enjoying it."