England’s Gabby George never questioned comeback from ACL

George has been a key part of a United defence that has kept five clean sheets in eight Women’s Super League matches this season.

Her performances have drawn the attention of England manager Sarina Wiegman for the upcoming friendly matches against the United States and Switzerland.

“My ultimate aim was to get back out on the pitch, perform and enjoy my football. It’s difficult when you have something taken away from you. You realise how much you want to do it,” said George.

“Getting an international call-up is what dreams are made of. But playing for Manchester United week in, week out, is always what dreams are made of for me.

“I’m a girl that grew up in Manchester supporting Manchester United. It’s been a great few months but I’m not stopping here.

“I always want to push on. I always want to improve. I’ve not been perfect. I know that. But I’m happy with where I’m at.”

George says her strong mentality comes from her parents, but suffering the ACL injury a second time was “definitely more difficult” than the first.

“I had just signed for Manchester United and I had so many dreams and ambitions that I wanted to achieve and it was all taken away from me within four games,” said George.

“The hardest part of an injury is understanding why, and you never know why. It was a difficult moment and I’m happy to have come through it with the help of Manchester United.

“The highs are always better than the lows. To anyone that’s going through an ACL, I’d always give them the advice that the mentality is the crucial part.

“We’ve got so much research on it now to come back from it, it’s just about your mentality – trusting yourself and trusting your knee again.”