Matildas midfielder Chloe Logarzo reveals extent of injury after heartbreaking concussion
Matildas midfielder Chloe Logarzo has opened up about what happened in the moments after her heartbreaking concussion in her long awaited return match.
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Chloe Logarzo’s desperation to work her way back into the Australian women’s soccer team was there for all to see.
She stood on the field and begged the team doctor to let her keep playing, even though she couldn’t focus her eyes.
It was a heartbreaking moment – watching Logarzo plead with Brandi Cole just 25 minutes into her first Matildas game since October 2022.
The last two years have been plagued with injury after injury – keeping her from the World Cup and the Paris Olympics campaigns.
Logarzo was so overwhelmed to be back in the starting line-up against Chinese Taipei in Melbourne last week she couldn’t even hold back the tears long enough to sing the national anthem.
“It was a compilation of all the years of trying to get back. It was almost like proving to myself that I could be back in the national team, it was a beautiful moment, even if it only lasted for 25 minutes,” Logarzo said.
The midfielder started the game well. There were few plays Logarzo wasn’t involved in.
She put her body on the line in an effort to beat Chan Pi-Han to the ball.
Their heads collided – knocking both players to the ground.
As soon as it happened Logarzo knew her night was over.
“I couldn’t focus my eyes,” Logarzo said.
“I wasn’t checking for blood because I didn’t think I’d split my head open but I just couldn’t get my eyes to focus.”
There is no official on-field concussion test. Logarzo said it was the doctor’s call.
“She obviously has known me for long enough and has been around the players and knows when a player is not good,” Logarzo said.
“It was devastating, it wasn’t the way that I wanted my re-entry into the national team to be. It was a bit upsetting.”
Post match there was a long list of tests that Logarzo had to take to determine the extent of the head injury.
“There was a baseline concussion test, which all players do, repeating questions, balance tests and that kind of stuff. But the new rules are once a concussion is declared there is an eight day mandatory exclusion, whether you end up having one or not.”
In other codes like NRL and AFL players are taken from the field, given a head injury assessment over 15 minutes and then either cleared to re-enter the game or not.
In football it is a permanent move – if the doctor suspects a head injury you are off.
Logarzo doesn’t have an issue with the strict rules. Even if in the moment she wished they didn’t exist.
“I wanted the rules from five years ago but the doctor’s got a brutal job that she needs to do and it ended up working out well for me,” she said.
“It’s the system and I’m glad it exists, it goes to show how far our medical fields have come in the last 10 years.”
Fast forward a week and Logarzo has been cleared to play for A-League’s Women’s club Western United this weekend.
It isn’t lost on Logarzo that might not be the case had she not been taken off the field and tended to so quickly.
“They deem a concussion a traumatic brain injury – did I get whacked in the head – absolutely,” Logarzo said.
“I’ve got a lump to show for it, but I don’t know if I sustained a brain injury from that head clash or if I was just startled from getting knocked in the side of the head.
“I haven’t had any symptoms since, so I’m grateful for that.”
NEXT STEPS
Western United will be Logarzo’s sole focus for the next two months – hoping her performance on the field will be enough to give her another shot in the national team.
The Matildas next window is in February – they will be travelling to the USA for the She Believes Cup.
“I just have to keep playing the way that I’m playing in the A-League and having fun,” Logarzo said.
“That’s what I’ve learned over the last few years, if I’m not enjoying it I won’t play well.
“I’ve dipped my toes back into the national team, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to put myself back in a position to be back there. It’s so amazing to be able to represent your country and put that jersey back on.
“It’s given me a little bit more spark to be able to propel me into the next few months.”
Having missed the last Olympics and the World Cup – Logarzo said it was hard not to dream about playing at the 2026 Asian Cup.
“I’m trying not to think too far ahead because in the past when I thought about something that’s so far in the future it ends up hindering what I’m doing in the present,” she said.
“It’s always in the back of my mind.
“But I just want to give everything that I can right now to Western United and give that to the girls because the last three years that I’ve been here all I’ve been doing is thinking about the World Cup and the Olympics and I haven’t been giving all that I can.”
COACH SEARCH
Boosting Logarzo’s chances is the fact that the Matildas don’t have a coach. They are currently being led by interim coach Tom Sermanni.
He is likely to still be in charge come the next window and has proven he isn’t afraid to draw on talent from the ALW.
Logarzo said it was creating a strange vibe in the camp with players unsure of their positions in the team.
“It’s a different dynamic,” Logarzo said.
“We know (Sermanni) is only going to be there for a certain amount of time and the girls who are proving themselves to him will then have to reprove themselves again to the new coach.
“Everyone’s on edge. No one knows who’s going to be playing.”
It is a position Logarzo has been in before. She has had five coaches during her time with the Matildas.
“Whenever a new coach comes in it’s a whole new cycle, new players, seeing everyone fight for their positions again,” she said.
“I’m not fretting about it now. It keeps everyone on their toes and makes people want to perform and have to perform consistently.”
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Originally published as Matildas midfielder Chloe Logarzo reveals extent of injury after heartbreaking concussion
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