Three months into her first season at Burnley FC Women, Aimee Kelly had a routine blood test as part of the club’s fitness checks.
A few weeks later, Kelly received a phone call and was asked to visit the hospital. Results revealed that she had a prolactin tumour very close to her right eye.
The 22-year-old striker, who played for Liverpool and Everton at academy level and made her senior debut for the latter, was informed that, while treatment took place, she would not be able to exercise at all.
In an instant, her whole footballing world changed and it brought an abrupt halt to her 2022-23 campaign where she had scored four goals in five appearances.
“Maybe at the start, for a day or two, I wondered if it could mean I wouldn’t play again,” Kelly tells The Athletic. “It was the hardest news I’ve ever had but I’m quite laid-back so after the initial shock I just thought I had to get on with it. I trusted the doctors to make the right decisions for me.”
Prolactinoma is a noncancerous tumour of the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain. It causes the pituitary gland to make too much of a hormone called prolactin and decreases the levels of hormones including estrogen and testosterone, among other problems.
Treatment varies depending on the…
