National hero Chloe Kelly – England’s supersub who netted the dramatic extra-time winner in the final of the Women’s Euros – had to battle back from a serious injury with a fighting spirit she would have first developed in “the cages” of west London.
The 24-year-old forward suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in May 2021 and it was not until just weeks before the Euros that she was able to make a return to club football.
She developed her fighting spirit from an early age – growing up in Ealing, west London, she would play football with her five older brothers in enclosed football areas, known as “the cages”.
As soon as she finished breakfast, she would head to a cage where she would spend most of the day.
Kelly – the youngest of seven siblings – has previously told how her brothers did not treat her differently during their “street football without any rules” – and the mutual respect helped her develop into the player she is today.
The 2021 injury came at the end of an impressive campaign for Manchester City which led to supporters voting her player of the season.
Kelly was unable to appear at the Olympic Games in Japan the following summer and faced a long journey back to full fitness with the Euros on the horizon.
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Growing up as a season ticket holder at Queens Park Rangers, Kelly had developed a passion for the game which saw her play in her younger years for her childhood club.
But it was a switch to Arsenal’s Centre of Excellence which saw her able to develop her skills further and even being given the chance to play alongside her idol, England scoring legend Kelly Smith.
The rising star – seen as one of the brightest young talents in the game – scored inside the first 25 minutes on her debut for the Gunners in July 2015.
Following loan spells to Everton, she eventually signed a permanent deal with the Merseyside club in 2018 and at the end of that year, made her senior debut in a friendly for England in a 3-0 victory against Austria.
Kelly’s performances continued to attract interest from elsewhere and she made the move to Manchester City in July 2020.
In her first season for the club, she scored 16 goals in 34 appearances – before injury brought her campaign to an end.
She penned a new deal with City earlier this year which will run until the summer of 2025.
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But it was full fitness that she really wanted to secure so she could return for City before the end of the season and stake a claim for a place in the England squad for the Euros being hosted in her home nation.
In April, with the beginning of the Euros closing in, Kelly made her long-awaited return from injury and won a place in manager Sarina Wiegman’s England squad for the summer tournament.
She was used as an impact sub throughout the competition – but it was her exploits in the final against Germany at Wembley which made history.
Kelly came off the bench in the 64th minute to score a 110th-minute winner and give the Lionesses a famous 2-1 win to secure the nation its first major football trophy since Sir Alf Ramsey’s victorious side won the World Cup at the same venue in 1966.
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After Ella Toone’s opener had been cancelled out in normal time by Lina Magull, Kelly was able to poke home from close range.
‘What dreams are made of’
“This is what dreams are made of,” she said during euphoric scenes after the match.
“Thank you to everyone who played a part in my rehab because I always believed I could be here, but to score the winner – wow!”
She mentioned her family, including her brothers – against whom she started her journey to national stardom all those years ago.
