Matildas veteran Kyah Simon makes triumphant return: ‘I wanted to defy the odds’

Matildas veteran Kyah Simon is familiar with sporting heartbreak.

In 2019, she missed the World Cup with an ankle injury, a fate she looked likely to relive when she went down with an ACL injury last October, nine months out from the FIFA Women’s World Cup on home turf.

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But in her own words, the 32-year-old has managed to “defy the odds,” named in Tony Gustavsson’s final 23 on Monday, the stoic striker is the triumph story of the bunch.

The squad, headlined by captain Sam Kerr and Steph Catley, who will be playing their fourth and third World Cups respectively, has been a long shot for Simon since going down with the injury while representing Women’s Super League club Tottenham Hotspur.

With ACL injuries typically seeing players take anywhere from nine to 12 months to make a full recovery, the chips did not seem likely to fall in Simon’s favour, but on Monday at the brand-new home of the Matildas in Melbourne, there was no hiding her contagious smile.

“I got told last Thursday when we had sit-down meetings with Tony and for me, it’s just a massive relief really, I just kind of broke down in tears because I guess from when I sustained that major injury eight months ago to then knowing what I’d gone through for those eight months day in day out the challenges that I faced – it wasn’t a smooth sailing rehab,” Simon said at the squad announcement.

“There were definitely ups and downs, and for it to finally kind of come to a head and obviously achieve that goal that I set when I underwent the surgery was just a massive relief and felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

“I think I’m still coming down off the emotional rollercoaster, just getting thrown around really for the last eight months.

“In my mind throughout that time, I had though ‘Why do I want to play football really, like why do I want to put myself through this?’

“Emotionally, I was a moody wreck some days, and then other days, I’d be on top of the world because I had small wins in my rehab.

“For me, I really tried to stay really present and just go day by day, not even thinking about the World Cup. I think the moment I let myself slip too far down the track, even if it was a few days a week, a month, whatever, I really lost kind of that time in that day.

“The only thing that you can do when you have a major setback or challenges is to keep your mind as fresh as it possibly can be when you’re going through something challenging.”

Attributing her rapid recovery to the Matildas medical staff, her family, and partner, she acknowledges that having been injured during a World Cup lead-up before, the experiences were vastly different.

“Thinking back to that and comparing it to that feels so different, I think just in terms of the support and how I felt throughout that rehab, this time I really tried not to stress myself out too much about timeframes and look too far down the track,” she said.

Despite this self-preservation, she admits there was a moment when she allowed herself to picture the dream.

“It really wasn’t until I got back to Australia and got into (pre-World Cup training) camp that I actually saw the bigger light at the end of the tunnel and actually felt like I was closer to being back to playing football.

“It wasn’t until the last minute and I think when I had that meeting with Tony out, I was in the dark, I didn’t believe it until those words came out of his mouth.”

The moment was captured by the Matildas media team with Simon breaking down.

Speaking through tears, a croaky-voiced Simon said she “never wanted a free ticket - I wanted to defy the odds of pushing myself to the limit … It’s really hard to put into words.”

Coach Tony Gustavsson said he chose Kyah “based on the player she will be in a month, not the player she is right now,” alluding to the continued work she needs to do to ensure peak physical preparation after being out of the game for so long.

Simon agrees with this sentiment.

“Obviously, I had the relief of being named in the squad, but I said to Tony, even when he told me I was in a squad, I’m not expecting a free ticket for what I’ve done in the past, I want to be there because I deserve it, and I’m in form,” she said.

“He said to me that he’s not necessarily picking a team that might be showing the best form now, but players that I know will show up for the big games in the World Cup. And for me, that obviously just builds confidence.

“I don’t want to go to the World Cup just to be a squad player, I want to go to help the team hopefully achieve something special.”

This is something Gustavsson hopes for too, having identified Simon as a ‘game changer,’ she is aware her role will likely be different to what it has been in the past.

“This journey has been so different leading into this World Cup to every other player in this squad because I’m obviously coming off a longer-term injury, I haven’t got one or two or three seasons under my belt … and that was my discussion with Tony – that maybe I will have a different role in this team,” she said.

“It’s different from the Olympics when I was a starter, and I was coming in playing a different role, but I’d much prefer to be in the squad and have that game changer role rather than wanting to be a starter and not even in the squad… ultimately, I want to do whatever is best for the team.”

Despite the many years of experience she has, the forward is calling this her “greatest achievement yet.”

“An honour and my greatest achievement to be selected for the World Cup on home soil,” she wrote on Instagram. “Words can’t describe this feeling, it’s been a rollercoaster 8 months, the toughest of my career. But I wouldn’t have got here without the support of my loved ones and the Matildas medical team, I’ll be forever grateful…Let’s go, Australia.”