By Matthew Nicoletti

One sudden off movement and young Alexia Forner’s footballing world turned upside down last year as she ruptured her ACL and MCL.

Last weekend, she returned to the pitch for the first time in over nine months.

The creative midfielder played 65 minutes in her return, appearing for Belconnen United reserve grade in a 1-1 draw against West Canberra Wanderers.

“I cannot really explain the feeling, it just feels amazing to be back on the pitch,” Alexia said.

The injury occurred on September 5th, 2020, in a match up against Canberra Olympic.

Alexia was on the edge of the box and went to fake a pass, pushed off her right leg to go left and collapsed.

“I knew straight away it was serious, it was the worst thing I have ever felt in my life, it was so painful,” she said.

The 18-year-old is a fundamental asset to her side’s transition game from midfield to attack. She can score quite a bit as well.

Alexia is an intelligent player that envisions the runs that are going to be made well before they happen and has the confidence to go for goal herself when the opportunity arrives.

Last season was a good reflection of this as she was in the midst of a fantastic period of form scoring six goals in seven games from midfield.

Belconnen made the grand final last season in a losing effort to Canberra Croatia who completed the campaign winning all 10 matches.

The Blue Devils struggled for the creativity and goals that Alexia, as well as her teammate Nicole Jalocha would have brought if available.

Alexia naturally found it tough to watch from the sideline after her season ending injury.

“It was really disappointing that I was not able to play and help the team, and in all honesty, it was hard to watch being injured and not out there,” she said.

The road to recovery from any sort of ACL and MCL injury is a tough journey and the 18-year-old has had over 70 sessions in rehab not including the personal training she has completed in her own time.

Current Belconnen United head coach Michael Zakoski has been really impressed with the midfielder’s progression and dedication to returning to the field.

He is also looking forward to having a player of Alexia’s quality back in the squad.

“I think Alexia is one of the most committed players I have ever met. She has not missed a single minute of training, always shows up on time and has followed her recovery plan precisely and professionally,” Zakoski said.

“Alexia has been cleared to attend regular training for the last four weeks. We are just trying to ease her back into the thick of things with some reserve grade games and possibly some appearances from the bench in first grade.

“She is technically a very talented player and has a good understanding of the game. I am looking forward to having her back in the team. Our team has been missing a player like her to link our midfield to our attack. At the moment we are a little too direct due to injuries and forced rotation. The eventual returns of Alexia and Nicole Jalocha will help that.

“The aim is to get her physically ready for the finals.”

Belconnen United currently sit level with Canberra Croatia on top of the table with 34 points. However, they fall behind by six on goal difference and the reigning champions have a game in hand.

Others might have questioned themselves with the gruelling process of coming back from such an injury, though Alexia did not.

“I never second guessed myself, I’ve always thought I just need to get through this to get back onto the pitch,” she said.

Hopefully we will see Alexia in the mix come finals time so she can recapture the opportunity that was taken away from her by cruel fate last season.

Beyond this campaign and her recovery, she still maintains her ultimate life goal and that is to make the W-League.

If she can recover the same form from last season and keep adding to her already impressive game, there is a lot of potential in young Alexia Forner.