Esther Morgan ready to work hard to regain starting spot after injury
Esther Morgan of Wales at full time. Wales v Greece in a FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifier at Parc y Scarlets on the 26th November 2021. Credit: Lewis Mitchell
A brisk winter’s night at the Stade de Roudourou in Guingamp, and Cymru have put in a brave performance in a 2-0 defeat to France.
It was certainly one of the standout team performances in the Gemma Grainger era, despite a narrow defeat.
A player who took a lot of plaudits that night was Esther Morgan. Making only her third start for the senior side, the left-back’s work rate and combination play with Carrie Jones left the Red Wall purring.
However, as Cymru headed out to Pinatar for a friendly against New Zealand, Morgan’s career went down an unexpected and tough path.
“I tore my rec fem (rectus femoris), which is a muscle in the front of your leg, and it was a Grade 3C tear.
“It basically involved the central tendon of the muscle, and they originally didn’t put a timeframe on how long I’d be out for, which was the hard part.
“They said it could be 12 weeks, could be longer, and in the end, it didn’t heal for ages and then it became a matter of, do I get surgery or not?
“In the end we decided not to and that’s why I was out for nine and a half months in total.”
After such a positive start to her international career, Morgan was sat on the side line, watching on like the rest of us.
She was unable to help the side in their bid to reach the World Cup, a pill that was hard to swallow for the full-back.
“I found it so difficult watching on. They did an amazing job for the rest of the campaign, and I can’t fault them in any way possible.
“But it’s one of them where you’re sat there and think, I’d just love to be around the girls or helping them in any way.
“I kept in touch with all of them and they were great with me, and in that aspect, I didn’t really miss much but I wish I was out there.”
Esther worked to get back to the levels she was playing at and got game time with loan moves to Coventry United and now at Sunderland.
But another appearance in a Cymru shirt was something that Morgan was yearning for, and on Thursday against Northern Ireland at the Cardiff City Stadium, her story came full circle.
“It’s just the best feeling ever. It’s something I’ve been working towards throughout the injury and it’s a moment I’ve been waiting for.
“So, it’s just a great feeling to be back out there with the girls and I loved every minute of it.
“Everyone was buzzing. We were probably a bit stronger in the first half than we were in the second half.
“We’re really showing now what we’re capable of doing against an opposition team where in the past, games have been really tight.”
The squad are now in Guimarães for an intriguing friendly against Portugal.
With Rachel Rowe moving further up the field in this new Cymru system, and with Lily Woodham out with an injury, a spot has opened up at left-back.
Morgan started the game against the Green and White Army, but Ella Powell is also a candidate for the position, and the Spurs player knows she still has to work hard to retain her position.
“It’s unfortunate that Lily has picked up an injury, you wouldn’t want to wish that on anyone.
“It’s always a good thing having a lot of people competing for the same position as you, it drives the standards even higher in training and in the camp.
“We’re always pushing each other and obviously I’d love to have the spot, but I know it’s something that isn’t going to be handed to me. I have to keep working hard.”
Cymru take on Portugal out in Guimarães tonight, with the game kicking off at 17:30. Live coverage is available on BBC2 Wales.
