Matildas star Teagan Micah opens up on concussion struggles and fighting back for the Olympics
Matildas goalkeeper Teagan Micah was flying – she had the No.1 spot on the national team and was an Olympics hero. Then she was concussed. This is how her life changed in that moment, and the struggle to return to the top.
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Matildas goalkeeper Teagan Micah was flying – as the Christmas break approached, she had the goalkeeper’s gloves on the national team and she was an Olympics hero. Then concussion struck.
The devastating injury in December 2022 forced Micah from the pitch for six months and shook her world off its axis. She suffered debilitating physical symptoms and struggled to cope mentally.
The timing of the incident is the cruellest part. It dented her hopes of playing at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and opened the door for Mackenzie Arnold to take the No. 1 jersey from her.
The 26-year-old made her debut for the national team in June 2021 – impressing coach Tony Gustavsson so much that she leapt over Lydia Williams as the first-choice keeper at the Tokyo Olympics a month later.
Micah had an incredible tournament – her penalty save in extra-time against Great Britain sent the Matildas through to the semi-final.
Micah was flying high.
Then in a split second she came crashing down.
It was December 2022.
Micah was playing between the sticks for Rosengard.
Micah didn’t get up.
Footage shows her clutching her head.
She was treated on the field for five minutes before being assisted off the pitch.
At the time Micah had no idea just how bad the damage was and she ended up being hospitalised with a concussion.
It was six months before she made her return – just two months out from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on home turf.
In those intervening months, Micah said she struggled to get through a normal day – often stuck in bed. Even simple tasks like walking left her nauseous, dizzy and caused chronic headaches.
“Two months into my concussion I was really, really struggling,” Micah said.
“I had to go back to Sweden and I was really struggling over there. I was there for about a week and the major concussion specialists that I was working with were all Brisbane-based.
“It was winter, I was without my family and I really, really struggled. I said to my club I need to go home. I just removed myself from that situation – to be fair I think that probably kept me alive.”
There were moments where Micah wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to play professional football again.
“It stripped away my health, my football. My mental health struggled massively,” Micah said.
“The more knowledge and awareness around it and better ways to be able to treat it. “Everyone’s story is different. Everyone’s symptoms are different — so that’s really hard. I think the more research and the more it’s spoken about the better understanding there will be for the next generation to come through.”
When Micah was at her lowest point, not even up to training, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson called her into a national team camp.
He knew she wouldn’t be able to do much training, let alone play. But to Gustavsson, player welfare came first.
“I was really struggling to get through a normal day,” Micah said.
“I was just starting back running and starting to dive but they brought me in knowing that I wasn’t able to play games. They just knew that the best thing for me was to get in with the girls, who are also like family.
“It was probably a big turning point in terms of my mental health, we have a really good psychologist (Dr Robert Brown) on the national team and he helped me a lot.”
By the time the World Cup squad selection rolled around Micah had been back playing for close to two months.
In her absence Gustavsson had elevated Mackenzie Arnold into the No. 1 keeper position.
From the outside many wondered if Micah would be given that top spot back at the World Cup given her return to fitness.
But behind closed doors Micah knew she wasn’t up to the challenge.
Even more than eight months on she still wasn’t 100 per cent.
“During the World Cup I still felt some things,” Micah said.
“Whether it, it sounds silly, but at a game with all the lights and sounds and emotions of it I’d have to have a panadol – I’d get headaches very easily,” Micah said.
While Micah watched on from the sidelines, Arnold cemented her position as Gustavsson’s No. 1 goalkeeper.
She played a crucial role in the Matildas historic fourth-placed finish – her penalty saves in the shootout against France keeping the Australians in the hunt for a medal.
Post World Cup Micah landed a contract with English club Liverpool.
She hasn’t had any symptoms since.
There was even another concussion scare in February.
“I got that as a knock at Liverpool in training,” Micah said.
“I was out for three or four weeks, it brought up a lot of emotion but thankfully that was a short-term one.”
Micah said the run of concussions hadn’t affected her confidence or impacted her playing style.
“The day that you stop being a brave goalkeeper you should call it quits,” Micah said.
“You can’t do this job without being brave and I think it’s not really (something I think about), I just dive at someone else’s feet. You just have to go out there and do it again and hope that it doesn’t happen again.”
Micah played seven games for the English WSL club before a deltoid injury hampered her final few games.
After the Olympics send-off series against China, in early June, retiring keeper Lydia Williams handed her No. 1 jersey to Arnold.
Micah has nothing against Arnold but that doesn’t mean she is willing to give up chasing her spot as first-choice keeper for the Matildas.
“We’re all competitive,” Micah said.
“Everyone always wants to be playing, obviously on the day you put on your big girl pants and support your teammates and your country throughout the tournament knowing your role, but I don’t think anyone ever really wants to be on the bench.”
Micah knows her injury could have ended her career and she is grateful to be back playing for her national team.
It doesn’t mean she plans on getting comfortable on the bench.
“It does wear thin, but that is what pushes you to keep going,” Micah said.
“I just have to put my best foot forward, like I was doing when I was playing my last few games and trying to really put my hand up.
“I’m never going to not want to be playing for my country or club.”
Micah has been with the Olympic squad in Spain for the past two weeks or their pre-Games training camp.They will wrap up their intense camp with a final hitout against reigning Olympic champions Canada on Sunday (5am). The Matildas kick off their Olympic campaign against Germany in Marseille on July 25.
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