"Good afternoon and welcome to this Women's Super League match here at Meadow Park. Arsenal take on Manchester City today, both teams have won their previous 4 games and are tied on points at the top of the table. The player to watch tonight is 19 year old Natalia Stephens, the midfielder who signed her first professional contract with Arsenal over the summer. She has recorded 2 assists and a goal so far this season, let's see what she can do today.
Stephens takes a touch to steady herself and oh my that is a nasty challenge! Stephens has gone down clutching her leg. Houghton has been sent off for that horrific challenge. The stretcher is on, it looks like Stephens' season could be over."
"It's her ACL and her meniscus. She's out for the season, if it doesn't heal properly she could be out for good." The doctors spoke as if she wasn't in the room, as if she wasn't there. But she was, and the midfielder heard every word. It echoed in her head, "ACL, meniscus, out for the season, out for good"
If it wasn't for the strong pain medication keeping her drowsy she would be screaming. Her career had just started and could possibly be ending. Her mind was racing a million miles a minute and all she wanted to do was ask questions, but the medication was making her sleepier and sleepier. Before she could say a word, she was out.
The first thing she noticed when she woke up was how dry her mouth was. She was too dizzy to notice anything else, like the fact that she was in recovery. She tried to raise her head to ask for water but it was too heavy. She quickly slipped back into unconciousness.
The next time she woke up she was still thirsty but this time in a drab hospital room. It took her a while, but she managed to lift her head to take some sips of the water by her side table.
She looked down the bottom of the bed where she saw Jordan standing with a sympathetic look. It was only then she realised what had happened, it hadn't been a dream. The game, the tackle, her knee. Only one thought came to mind.
"Did we win?"