Rianna Jarrett aiming to bounce back stronger after her third ACL surgery

March 4th 2016 was supposed to be one of the proudest days of Rianna Jarrett life after the 21 year old made her international debut as a second-half substitute against Italy at the Cyprus Cup. However, little did she know six minutes later she would be staring down the barrel of a third ACL injury.

The Wexford Youths forward, who returned last November from her second cruciate injury, had hit the ground running, scoring twice on her return against Peamount United as well as helping Youths to a first FAI Cup crown at the Aviva Stadium.

For such a young talent Jarrett has proven she has the mentality to overcome any adversity and, while she admits it is frustrating to be facing another prolonged period on the sidelines, she must focus on her recovery.

“It’s frustrating” she told Extratime.ie. “But you kind of just have to get on with it at the end of the day.

“I mean it’s my third time around the block now obviously I was devastated when it happened when I got the new but luckily I’ve had the operation now and on the road to recovery so we can start thinking about getting back.

“I definitely think I can come back stronger. I always said after the first one if it happened again, I’d never go through it again and I managed to come back the second time and now this time it’s my left knee gone.

“It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be long, it’s going to be hard, but luckily I have Ciara Rossiter with me to join me on the journey this time.

“I think the two of us will pull each other through the long evenings of training without the girls so I definitely think I can get back as stronger. It’s just a matter of when. I’ll definitely take my time this time around.”

Despite admitting that she thought about not coming back after her second injury the forward explained that football was always a part of her life growing up and something she could never just switch off.

“All I’ve ever known is soccer. I started playing when I was six, playing on the street with the boys and then to join my first club. I’m still a part of Wexford Youths now even though I am not playing. I still come along to every game I can go to and training session.

“If I take away [soccer] from life that's nearly 15 years of my life that you’re taking away so it's easier for me to carry on and come back again than it is for me to quit and I am only 21 years of age. I still believe there is a good couple of years left in me once I get back fit again.”

When asked if she believed her courage and bravery to overcome two ACL injuries inspired her teammate,s Jarrett revealed that the squad doesn’t need additional motivation and they are more like a “family” than teammates.

“We are a tight unit, we’re a family. Everyone gives everything for each other. Various people had various injuries over the last couple of years, Kylie Murphy was out with her back. That’s our captain and she’s come back better than ever.

“We all just look out for each other, especially when we are down in the dumps. I mean it was a tough game there today [against Galway] and we are going to go and regroup and talk to each other. The fact that we are all friends off the pitch as well, we’ll pull each other along when we are in bad situations on and off the field.

“It’s easy [when] you’re coming into training sessions and matches you know you're going to have a laugh with your friends and even when you are putting in the serious work and times are serious when you are concentrating you still find the time to have a laugh because we all get on well with each other the management included.

“The whole unit we have their is fantastic. I actually couldn’t ask for a better group of teammates or management. That just drives us on, the good times it makes it even better, but the bad times it makes it easier for us to deal with and regroup and go again.”

When reflecting on her senior debut, the forward was delighted to have finally reached a lifelong dream of earning a first cap after being part of the successful under 17’s side in 2010 that got to the World Cup quarter-final as well as representing Ireland at under 19’s.

“To finally put on [a senior jersey] for the first time for a game was something you dream of from when you're a child. As I said, I’ve played underage, caps at 17s and 19s level. It just topped it off that I got one at senior level.

“The year before I went to La Manga for a training camp where I tore my ACL a second time, but that wasn’t a competitive set up so I was delighted to be called back in in March to go away to the Cyprus Cup with the girls and unfortunately only lasted six minutes.

“I took a lot from that six minutes. It was great to run onto the pitch for my senior debut. Unfortunately it ended soon, but hopefully there's a lot more to come please god.”

After announcing via social media the news of her injury, Jarrett was flooded with support and well wishes and she explained she posted it on social media so she would not have to tell people individually.

“Oh, it was fantastic” she said with a huge smile on her face. “The football community in Ireland is big, everyone supports each other when they’re doing well and when they’re doing poorly.

“When people found out that I done my ACL - I posted it on Instagram and Facebook to save me from telling people individually.”

As well as posting the news on social media, the Youths player also done an emotional interview with FAI TV and she revealed after the video was released she received well wishes from her favourite soccer player along with USA women’s World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe who send the forward a personal email.

“I also done an interview with Gerry McDermott and Gary Seery and when that was launched the comments I got back from that was something I couldn't believe. The best thing had to be getting a tweet from Jack Wilshere, I’m a massive Arsenal fan and he’s my favourite player even though he doesn’t play much himself: he struggles with injuries.”

“Maybe that’s why he’s my favourite player” she joked. “[The support was] phenomenal so I just want to say thanks again to everybody that wished me best of luck for the future it really means a lot to me.

“The email I got from Megan Rapinoe it was personal. It wasn’t just a standard email that she sent out.

“She’s currently going through her third ACL tear as well so I suppose when someone like that gets on to you and tells you it’s ok not to be ok. You take a step back and you think about it, it’s not the end of the world.

“Things could be a lot worse - people have it a lot worse in life I am fortunate enough that I can’t complain and I do have a great group of people supporting me if I ever need anything so I can’t complain.”

To listen to Rianna's full interview please click here.