In 2020, Megan Wynne had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which would rule her out for months. Coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, Wynne battled her injury throughout lockdown.
“As most people know, an ACL is probably one of the worst injuries as a footballer you can go through,” Wynne explains.
“As soon as you hear those words of an ACL you know it’s going to be a long one. I was very lucky to be in a professional environment at Bristol and even though it was throughout a pandemic and the lockdown, I could go in every day and work with the physios there.
“The first few months were really tough because I wasn’t even out on the pitch or running or anything like that, it was just building up all the strength again and getting the muscles working back in my leg, learning to walk and run again, which was a surreal feeling, but once I got the hardest few months out the way and then got back onto running and kicking a ball again it was a really good feeling.”
Coming into the new season Wynne wanted to regain her match fitness and enjoy her football, and the winger explains how Charlton has done just that.
“I got to have a full pre-season under my belt coming in with Charlton and I’m ready and raring to go now, feeling fit and strong.
“You’ve got to look at how far you’ve come, I’ve still got a little way to go in terms of where I want to be at but I think the way I’ve progressed my rehab… stepping back out there is a massive achievement for me.
“Even when I played my first pre-season game that was a big moment and I had a little round of applause from the girls which was really nice.”
The 28-year-old is now re-united with Manager Karen Hills, having played under her at Tottenham Hotspur.
“It’s good to be re-united with Karen, we won promotion with Spurs with Karen and Juan [Amoros], which was one of the best accomplishments in my career. I’m also really excited and to be re-united with some of the girls from Spurs as well like Anna Filbey, we’re really good friends so it’s great to be back on the pitch with her at club level as well.”
Summing up her time at Charlton so far, Wynne explains how professional the environment at Sparrows Lane is. “The way the club has prepared everything, for the first time in my career I really felt like a professional footballer. Just coming in and having our own base, our own building, our own pitches.
“We really have been treated like true professionals and it’s been a great environment to be around and I’ve said it before but I feel like this group has been together a long time and the bond that we’ve created is a pretty special one. I know a lot of teams will say that but it definitely feels like we’re building something special and we see it as a long-term plan rather than a short-term one, it’s definitely something exciting and I’ve loved my first couple of months.”
The Addicks face Blackburn Rovers on Sunday, September 26th. Click here to buy a ticket.