How the Matildas’ Hayley Raso went from broken back to FIFA Women’s World Cup in one year
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27th May 2019
Less than 12 months after 24-year-old Hayley Raso, a winger for Brisbane Roar in the W-League and Portland Thorns in the NWSL, broke three of her vertebrae in an on-field collision, the Australian footballer is gearing up to represent the country at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France this June.
The injury that left Raso questioning whether she’d ever be able to walk again, let alone play football, occurred during a game in Washington while playing for Portland in August 2018. The impact of the high-speed knee to the back left the winger confined to a hospital bed for weeks and in rehab for months.
“That was obviously the lowest point in my career and I think in my life in general. It was really tough and it was a really hard time for me,” she told Vogue. “I was in hospital for a month and then I rehabbed for six months, learning to walk again, to basically do everyday activities.”
Six months after the incident, Raso made a triumphant return to the pitch for the Matildas in the Cup of Nations, scoring a goal against New Zealand just minutes after making her long-awaited debut.
“When I ran for the first time and played for the first time it was pretty overwhelming for me and so exciting after everything I’d been through,” she explained, enduring what was nothing short of a gruelling rehab and recovery process.
“I’ve had a lot of setbacks and a lot of people who said I wouldn’t make it,” Raso continued. “It’s just about continually proving yourself and working hard. If you have a dream you can reach it,” she added.
Raso joined Australia’s national women’s football team in 2012. While she did in fact travel with the Matildas to Canada in 2015 for her first world cup, she enthuses that she’s eager to represent the country at her second in France this June, given that she didn’t get the chance to play any minutes on the pitch.
“It’s a dream for most people to represent their country so, to me, living it, it’s just an incredible experience really,” she told Vogue. “I think being a part of a team and working as a team makes it that extra bit special. Having your friends around you with training and playing week in, week out, just makes it a lot more enjoyable.”
As for how Raso managed to go from rehab to representing Australia in less time then we’d imagined physically possible, the sports star explains it’s all about rest, recovery and remembering to put in the hard work in order to reap the benefits.
“It’s training every day, it’s recovering right, it’s making sure your body is fuelled with the right foods so you can train and perform at your peak,” she says. Emphasising the importance of setting goals, she adds, “even on those bad days you know you’re working towards something that’s going to be so big and so special.”
Raso is also studying to be a paramedic, a profession she’s aspired to since she was a child. “For me, playing soccer that’s a dream, but then knowing that once my soccer career is over I have something to look forward to and a job that I’ll be set up with, it’s great,” she shares.
With the FIFA Women’s World Cup around the corner, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics firmly in her sights, and a rewarding career as a paramedic in her incredibly bright future, we’re pegging Hayley Raso as one to watch.
For more, catch up on all you need to know ahead of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup here.