Ella Smith

Email: ellasage04@gmail.com

Website: ellasmithnews.wordpress.com

Rebuilding from the Breaking Point

For athletes, injuries aren’t just physical setbacks. They can be lifechanging moments that test their resilience, identity and mental strength. This project explores the psychological and emotional toll of sports injuries through the story of professional footballer Sabrina McNeill. She endured two ACL (anterior cruciate ligament injury) tears in two years. Through interviews with athletes, sports psychologists, and physical therapists, this piece examines the systemic gaps in support, the pressures of returning to compete and athletes’ own personal battles. This is more than ‘comeback story’. It reveals what it truly takes to rebuild, both physically and mentally.