Matildas star Mary Fowler is leaving nothing to chance as she continues her recovery from an ACL injury – and her spirits were further lifted after her sister visited her in Manchester.
Fowler uploaded a series of photos to Instagram on Tuesday – which featured the gradual rehabilitation of her knee.
Some eagle-eyed sports fans may have noticed Fowler was wearing Panthers footy shorts, a likely gift from her boyfriend, NRL superstar Nathan Cleary.
Attacking ace Fowler suffered the injury during Manchester City’s FA Cup clash against rivals Manchester United two weeks ago.
The club confirmed on April 16 Fowler had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and is expected to be sidelined for up to a year.
Last weekend, Fowler shared a candid look into her rehabilitation process via Instagram, posting a video captioned, ‘A lil snippet of my rehab so far.’
Matildas star Mary Fowler is leaving nothing to chance as she continues her recovery from an ACL injury
Fowler’s spirits were further lifted after a visit her sister this week in England (pictured, the girls enjoy a coffee)
Fowler, 23, uploaded a series of photos to Instagram on Tuesday – including images showing the gradual rehabilitation on her knee (she is pictured, in a pair of Panthers NRL shorts)
The footage showed her carefully performing painful strengthening exercises on her injured knee.
In the video, fans noticed a heartfelt gesture – a photo of Cleary attached to her headphones, and the subtle tribute wasn’t missed by supporters.
‘Nat on the headphones. Swoon,’ one fan commented.
‘It’s Nathan stuck to the headphones for me,’ another added with a heart emoji.
Fowler is one of several leading Australian players hit by serious knee injuries in recent years.
Captain Sam Kerr still remains out of action with her own ACL tear sustained in January of 2024 at a training camp in Morocco with Chelsea.
In better news for Matildas fans, defender Ellie Carpenter was back playing after eight months following her own ACL setback in 2022 when playing in the Champions League final for Olympique Lyonnais against Barcelona.
Carpenter recovered to play in the 2023 World Cup in Australia, where the Matildas reached the semi-finals.
Despite the severity of her injury, Fowler is staying focused and determined.
‘I’m really disappointed to be facing some time out of the game,’ she said.
‘It’s never easy when something like this happens especially when you’ve been working so hard and feeling good. The road ahead will be challenging, but I’m ready to take it on.
‘There’s still so much I want to achieve, and I’ll be using this time to grow in every way I can,’ she added. ‘I’m committed to doing the work, staying positive and coming back better than ever.’
