Katrina Gorry reveals ankle injury in December saved her career after being left exhausted by schedule

On the surface it appeared like Katrina Gorry had everything going for her — playing for the Matildas, in Japan and the US — but the truth is she was hiding how exhausted and broken she was and now reveals she wanted to quit the game.

At the time it seemed like an unwanted Christmas present, but the ankle injury Katrina Gorry suffered in December was a blessing in disguise for the “exhausted” Brisbane Roar and Matildas midfielder.

Constant football in Australia, Japan and the United States had left Gorry a physical and emotional wreck before the start of the Roar’s 2018-19 W-League campaign.

It was so distressing that 26-year-old Gorry was ready to quit the game she loved despite still being in her prime.

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And if not for the intervention of her family and Roar women’s coach Mel Andreatta, as well as the ankle injury that prematurely ended her W-League season. Gorry may very well be in retirement now rather than in Europe with the Matildas preparing for next month’s World Cup in France.

“Six months ago if you had have asked me if I wanted to keep going I would have said no,” Gorry told The Sunday Mail.

Katrina Gorry wanted to give the game away.

“I was mentally and physically exhausted from back-to-back seasons with no real break, and it eventually took a toll on me.

“I thought several times that I wanted to give it away, but I knew there was a lot of unfinished business. I wanted to go to another World Cup and hopefully another Olympics.

“I had a lot of conversations about it with my family and they were supportive of me, no matter what my decision would have been.

“And having someone like Mel Andreatta at the Roar to keep me motivated and reminding me of the little girl that always wanted to put on the Australian jersey and play for Brisbane Roar was a huge help.”

But even though Gorry was convinced to start the W-League season, doubts remained in her mind.

“You can only self-talk so much. I was mentally and physically broken,” she said.

“It was always good being around the girls because you’d forget about all the things that were going on, but at the same time, I did need to step away from the game to get back some determination and drive that I did when I first made the Brisbane Roar team and the national team.”

Gorry has been selected in the Matildas squad for the World Cup. Picture: Getty

So the serious ankle ligament damage she suffered at a Roar Christmas Eve training session proved to be extremely timely.

“The injury was a blessing and it gave me a chance to sit back, watch the Brisbane Roar girls perform and play a different mentoring role in the team for the rest of the season,” Gorry said.

“That was important for me to grow as a player and a person.

“The injury was a little bit of a blessing in a way to fall back in love with the game.

“All different things flashed through my mind at the time of the injury and I knew my time frame for World Cup selection was going to be pretty small but somehow it has worked out pretty perfectly.”

Gorry, capped 73 times for Australia, and her family shed tears after being told she had been selected in the Matildas’ World Cup squad.

“There was a fair bit of relief, but I was also so excited and just proud to be able to go to another World Cup. It was definitely an anxious couple of days waiting to hear,” she said.

Originally published as Katrina Gorry reveals ankle injury in December saved her career after being left exhausted by schedule