Hannah Blundell reveals how female footballers are receiving more support than ever when it comes to having children – and how she intends to become the first Man United player to return to the field after pregnancy

Lying to her team-mates about an injury was a new and uncomfortable situation for Manchester United footballer Hannah Blundell.

It was off-season in the WSL and Blundell, 30, had just learned that she was pregnant with her partner, Tom Pett, who is also a professional footballer currently on loan at Oldham Athletic.

After telling the club doctor and the manager, Marc Skinner, Blundell decided to keep her pregnancy from her closest friends and team-mates for 12 long weeks, until she knew she was in the clear.

‘Waiting to tell the girls after 12 weeks was hard, because I wanted to keep it a secret to make sure that everything was fine,’ Blundell tells Mail Sport.

‘I had to fake an injury because I couldn’t do the testing at the club and all of that stuff. So it was hard obviously having to make up this lie because of being pregnant.

‘Some of them did clock early on, because obviously I feel girls in general, they just notice the little things.

She is also aiming to become the first Man United player to return to playing after pregnancy

When learning that she was pregnant with her partner, footballer Tom Pett, she initially had to lie to her team-mates

‘And then one of the girls, Millie Turner, messaged me and said, “you don’t have to tell me but I think you’re pregnant.”

‘So I just rang her and confirmed it and asked her not to tell anyone until the 12 weeks have passed and the scan’s fine. She kept her word and kept it quiet from the whole team.’

Blundell first joined United from Chelsea in July 2021 after having won eight major titles with Emma Hayes’ side.

The full back played a major role in lifting United’s first piece of silverware last summer, starting against Tottenham in the FA Cup final at Wembley which the Reds went on to win 4-0.

Due in March, Blundell has every intention of returning to a football pitch as fast and safely as she can after giving birth, and in doing so will become the first United player to ever return to playing after having a child.

Blundell has partnered with baby development brand Nuby, to highlight the importance of female role models in sport. Nuby surveyed over 2,000 parents with children aged 0-2 and found that nearly half (46 per cent) feel female sports stars don’t receive enough recognition.

While she joins an increasing number of elite female athletes who have had children during their careers – with Chelsea goalkeeper Zecira Musovic having announced her pregnancy last week – there is a clear sense of the challenging balance between a ticking bodyclock and the relatively short window of a professional playing career.

‘Me and my now husband, we’ve always said when we got married that if it was to happen then happy days. If not, then obviously no worries,’ she says.

‘It wasn’t really a nailed down “yep, I definitely want to have a baby” and I wouldn’t say that was necessarily because of football reasons. It was more just based off where I’m at in life.

Nuby found nearly half of 2,000 parents feel female sports stars don’t get enough recognition

‘There’s so much more support around women having a baby in sport that I felt that if it were to happen, I knew I would be supported and it wasn’t a decision in terms of it ending my career.

‘I know that I’m at an age that is probably considered old in football terms, but also an age that was probably ready to have a family.’

And while it was an initially easy decision to say that she wanted to have a baby and keep playing, this didn’t stop Blundell from being apprehensive about telling her employers.

‘I’ve got a good relationship with the club and everyone there, so I knew that it would be fine, but I think you’ve always got that thought of “what if the response is negative”,’ she says.

The club were quick to get behind their defender though, immediately triggering her one-year contract extension, which, Blundell says, was ‘a weight lifted off me’.

Blundell, and other female athletes who have children during their sports careers, are still treading in relatively unchartered waters. And it was for these reasons that Blundell decided to get back in touch with former Chelsea team-mate Melanie Leupolz, who returned to playing after giving birth in 2022.

‘I messaged Melanie and I just asked her what she went through in terms of when did she stop going on the pitch and exercise wise and she helped me through that, which was nice,’ Blundell says.

‘Obviously it’s still a bit unknown of what’s right and what’s wrong and so it was really nice that she was able to share her experience with me and give me a bit of reassurance in that sense as well.’

Blundell and other athletes who have children during their careers are still treading in unchartered waters

Blundell aims to be fully prepared just in time for pre-season this summer – but doesn’t miss the back pain

As for the practical side of things, Blundell set about training on the pitch with her team-mates without contact, dropping the weights down in the gym and keeping up with the technical aspects of the team.

One of the benefits of regular fitness, Blundell relates with a smile on her face, has been a lack of back pain.

‘I feel it has benefited a lot because I feel – touch wood – no back pain and I feel quite mobile which is probably down to stay active and continuing what I’ve been doing, just at a lower level,’ she says.

With a plan to resume physical activity soon after giving birth in March, Blundell aims to be fully prepared just in time for pre-season this summer.

And as for watching from the sidelines while United sit second in the WSL, seven points behind league leaders Chelsea and with the best defensive record in the top-flight?

‘I did joke with our manager the other day that they don’t even need me, so I said I might just take another year off, which he laughed at.’

But ever the competitor, Blundell emphasises how she intends to use her time away to her advantage.

‘It’s been amazing seeing the team and looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, it’s made me look at football in a different way, analysing it in a different way.

‘So when I go back I’m sure I’ll have to fight for my position but that’s fine.’