Two Wales Women youth team members from Ammanford have rejoined the national team setup after months on the sidelines with anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Nia Rees and Ffion Morgan have previously plied their trade with the Wales Women youth teams, but spent months on the sidelines recovering from similar ACL injuries, but the duo, who hail from Ammanford, have made their long awaited returns with the national team.
The midfield pair both suffered the ignominious fate of the dreaded ACL injury during 2017. Rees suffered hers in training in February 2017, whilst Morgan did so in June of the same year, but after spending months recovering from the injuries, the midfielders are back in training with the Welsh women national team setup, just in time for the first team’s significant fixture against England at Rodney Parade.
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for Rees, who has been making steady progress through the Welsh setup since her inclusion in the Under-15s side in January 2015. In the following 12 months, she made appearances for the Under-16s and 17s, and has since turned out consistently for the Under-19s.
But, an injury to her ACL in February 2017 put the brakes on any plans to make the final step to the first team in the immediate future.
The winger’s rise to the top of the youth game in Wales has not a journey she has made alone, as she has been joined by fellow Amman Valley youngster Ffion Morgan on the development path. After turning out for Ammanford Girls together, the pair’s progress went hand in hand together, and they even found themselves in the treatment room at the same time, when Morgan went down with injury in June, some four months after Rees suffered her initial injury.
Morgan had already made her first team debut for the national team against Northern Ireland back in 2017, and has three caps to her name, but has spent the last nine months out with the same injury as her compatriot.
But, now the duo are back in action having rejoined the Under-19s last week for the first time since recovering from their respective injuries, for their training camp.
Manager Jayne Ludlow has stated that she hopes Morgan can be reintegrated into the squad following her return to the field, but it seems their immediate thoughts will be towards making the Under-19 squad for the European tournament in Armernia this coming October.
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