For most footballers, an injury is an occupational hazard. For Abbie Ward, one devastating injury took the game away from her for eight years. She was just 20 and barely a minute into a match when she planted her foot, twisted her knee and suffered a catastrophic, crippling injury to her ACL.
The damage was so severe that she was taken to hospital, beginning a long period of treatment, rehabilitation and attempted comebacks. For somebody who had been playing football since she was five, it meant losing something that had been part of her life for almost as long as she could remember.
In fact, football entered Abbie's life before she was even old enough to play it.
At just three years old, her dad took her to watch her first professional match, Sheffield Wednesday against Manchester United. By five, she was playing herself, beginning a relationship with the game and Sheffield Wednesday that would take her into league and cup football. Then, almost in an instant, it stopped.
Eight long years away from the game
The severity of Abbie's injury meant getting back onto the pitch wasn't simply a matter of completing rehabilitation and picking up where she'd left off. Attempts to return were thwarted by the extent of the damage and the physical demands of competitive football. Years passed. But her in-built desire to get back on the pitch never went away.
With encouragement from her coaches, Abbie eventually made another attempt to return. Eight years after the injury that had taken football away from her, she was finally back on the pitch.
A pre-match ritual that signifies something so much bigger
The physical and psychological trauma of that experience is still with her. Asked whether she has any pre-match rituals, Abbie reveals that she kisses her wedding ring before every game - a small gesture she associates with staying safe and avoiding another injury.
Today, at 32, she's part of the Sheffield Wednesday FC Ladies Reserves squad, training three times a week and preparing for another season.
She readily admits that her body isn't quite as agile as it was at 18. But what hasn't changed is what she loves about football: the competition, the team spirit, the drive to win and the sense of being part of something bigger than herself. And having once lost the opportunity to play, she perhaps appreciates that more than most.
Inspiring the next generation of women football players
Abbie's footballing inspiration includes one of Sheffield Wednesday's most celebrated former players, Chris Waddle.
His career took him through English club football, Marseille and the international stage with England before he arrived at Hillsborough – an illustrious career that continues to inspire Abbie today.
But Abbie is also playing during an important period for the women's game.
Women's football is no longer expected to exist as the poor relation of men's football. Its profile, audiences and opportunities have grown dramatically, and Abbie believes today's players have an important role in encouraging the girls and young women coming through behind them.
With more than 250 girls and women playing across Sheffield Wednesday's different teams and age groups, that next generation is already highly visible. And Sheffield Wednesday is really showing its long-held belief in the importance of nurturing young female football playing talent. It’s an industry in itself!
For Abbie, being part of the club therefore means more than playing matches.
“It's about demonstrating what's possible. Encouraging new talent. And helping maintain the momentum that has transformed women's football and opened the sport to more girls who want to play it.”
Hillfoot backs Abbie for the 2026–27 season
Returning to competitive football after eight years away is an achievement in itself. Doing so while combining three training sessions a week, matches and a working life requires another level of commitment. That's why having the support of her employer, Hillfoot, through its sponsorship of Abbie for the season means so much.
For Hillfoot, the partnership is also an opportunity to support someone within its own team whose commitment to football reflects many of the qualities valued in working life: teamwork, resilience, determination and the drive to keep improving.
In Abbie's case, resilience is considerably more than a convenient sporting metaphor. She's lived it. And she hopes Hillfoot's backing can also help her encourage the players following behind her.
“Having Hillfoot behind me means a lot. I want to use that support to show the next generation of girls what’s possible, and encourage them to keep playing, keep improving and keep believing in themselves.”
On 6th September, Abbie and her teammates begin their first season match against Rossington.
It will be another match in another fixture-packed football season. But after everything it took for Abbie to get back there, simply being able to pull on the shirt, join her teammates and walk onto the pitch represents something more. She's back doing what she's loved since she was five. Playing football.
