In The Journey to the Cup, The Athletic follows six players as they work towards a place in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Follow along as we check in with them each month in the build-up to the tournament, tracking their progress as they prepare both mentally and physically for a chance to shine on the game’s biggest stage.
“I panicked,” says Lily Agg. “I was crying. It felt like my foot had left my ankle, a horrible unknown feeling. My ankle blew up big time straightaway. It looked broken. You think the worst, ‘This is just my luck, please don’t do this to me’. ”
The Republic of Ireland international thought her World Cup dream could be over.
Training with her club, London City Lionesses of the Championship, on a Thursday night in late March, Agg dispossessed a team-mate, dribbled with the ball and was about to pass. The player that lost the ball tried to regain possession. “She stepped on my ankle from one angle, another player came in from the other side and my ankle got sandwiched,” Agg tells The Athletic.
Accompanied by club physio Laura Clint, the 29-year-old spent two hours at Bromley A&E. The amount of swelling sparked concerns over a broken ankle.
“At A&E, I started to test my ankle by putting weight on it which I probably shouldn’t have,” says…
