The 28-year-old forward has decisively dismissed any notions that a ruptured ACL would diminish her incredible talent
Deep into second-half stoppage time during Arsenal's WSL clash with Manchester United back in November 2022, Lotte Wubben-Moy sent a hopeful long ball to makeshift centre-forward Jen Beattie. As she so often does, the Scot won the header, sending the ball into the path of a scampering Beth Mead on the right wing. But United full-back Hannah Blundell got there first, shepherding Mead out of play.
It's a passage of play that football fans have seen on thousands of occasions – only this time, something was different. After the light contact with Blundell, Mead screamed out in pain and could not get back to her feet. She later reflected that "it was like someone had hit [her knee] with a hammer".
Eventually, with almost no time left on the clock and tears streaming down her face, she was helped off the field. After the game, Arsenal and England's worst fears were confirmed: Mead had ruptured her ACL.
The following 12 months were excruciating for the Euro 2022 Player of the Tournament. Not only did she have to watch on as a string of her club-mates suffered the same injury, she also missed out on Arsenal's Conti Cup triumph, a heroic Champions League run and the 2023 World Cup with England.
However, against Chelsea on Sunday, in front of a near-sellout Emirates crowd, all the hard work in recovery paid off. Mead scored the opener in her side's dominant 4-1 win and the look of sheer elation on her face when the ball hit the net told you everything you needed to know about how much it meant to the 28-year-old.
GettyA difficult recovery
Mead has made no secret of how difficult she has found the road back to full fitness. It wasn't just the mental and physical toll of ACL rehabilitation that she had to contend with either. In January 2023, her mother June also sadly lost her battle with ovarian cancer.
Mead recently opened up on this dark time during an interview with the Independent. "In January I lost my Mum and because of the injury I couldn’t play football, which was always my escape, my happy place. Moments when people thought I was fine because of my outgoing personality, were very dark," she said
"It’s been a tough process to understand. Team-mates, people at the club, family and friends that supported me were so important, without them I could have been in a far darker place."
Mead's support network included partner Vivianne Miedema as well as team-mates Leah Williamson, Teyah Goldie and Laura Wienroither, who all suffered the same injury during the 2022-23 campaign.
Speaking to the BBC, Mead revealed how sharing the challenge of recovery with Miedema was a source of strength for both of them. "We were competitive in testing, who is doing better. It pushed us to get back quicker. But it has not been without its arguments and ups and downs," she said.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesBack with a bang
And when Mead did finally make her return against Aston Villa at the Emirates in October, she again paid tribute to the group. "I couldn't even look at the ACL club," she said "They saw the hard work I put in. If I turned around to them or the physios I would have probably got quite upset so I tried to avoid that. I said 'You'll know when you come back yourself.'"
Bringing Mead on was not a token gesture by Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall, though. When she entered the fray in the 88th minute, Arsenal were teetering on the brink of a crisis. 1-0 down at home against a struggling side, after previously failing to win their first two WSL games and also crashing out of Europe at hands of Paris FC, the Gunners had even held an impromptu, on-field team huddle after Maz Pacheco gave Villa a first-half lead.
Thankfully for the near 36,000 packed into the Emirates, Mead helped spark a dramatic late revival. After stand-in captain Katie McCabe blasted home an 92nd-minute equaliser at the front post, Mead dabbed a through ball into the path of Stina Blackstenius, only for the Swede to smash it into the woodwork.
The much-craved cathartic moment would come just a few seconds later, though. Finding some space on the edge of the box Mead received a Wubben-Moy pass and seemingly overhit her first touch, only to get her foot there in the nick of time and knock it into Alessia Russo's orbit. Her England team-mate then fired low into the bottom corner, despite Daphne van Domselaar getting a hand to it. Incredibly, Mead and Co had turned it around to earn their first WSL victory of the season.
Getty'A long, long time coming'
"It’s been a long, long time coming," she said after the victory. "There have been a lot of hard days, a lot of good days. I think, ultimately, you want to do your job, you want to do something you love – and that had been taken away for such a long time."
Mead followed up her explosive cameo with some fitness-building substitute appearances against Man City and Leicester, before finally returning to the starting XI for the Gunners' trip to Brighton on November 19.
And things all clicked into place the following week when West Ham visited Meadow Park. Her first post-ACL goal was classic Mead. Found on the right wing by Kyra Cooney-Cross' long ball, she easily got free of Hawa Cissoko before bending a left-footed effort into the top corner.
Her second of the game was not quite as spectacular – a poacher's finish following outstanding work from Alessia Russo – but it gave her twice as much cause to celebrate at half-time. And, shortly after the West Ham win, England boss Sarina Wiegman added to Mead's list reasons to be cheerful.
Getty ImagesBack with the Lionesses
It was only a matter of time before Mead was recalled to the Lionesses setup, and Wiegman pulled the trigger for the team's crucial UEFA Nations League fixtures against the Netherlands and Scotland.
"I’ve been smiling like a Cheshire cat since I got here," Mead revealed before the first game. "It’s been a year since I was here. I’ve worked hard, I’ve had a lot of tough days and I’m just super proud of myself, being able to get back into the fold and hopefully help the team at some point."
She didn't have to wait long to get on the field either, being introduced as a half-time substitute for Chloe Kelly when England were trailing 2-0 against the Netherlands at Wembley. Mead had a clear impact, adding decisiveness to the frontline as Ella Toone's second-half winner completed a quite remarkable turnaround in front of over 70,000 spectators.
Mead made her long-awaited return to the starting XI at Hampden Park a few days later – and quickly began making up for lost time. Within 13 minutes she had already set up Alex Greenwood for the opener with a wicked corner and another assist, as well as a goal of her own, would follow before the break.
In the end, the 6-0 win wasn't quite enough to secure England's passage into the Nations League finals – the Netherlands' late heroics made sure of it – but it was still a night of real significance for Mead.
Amid Chloe Kelly, Lauren Hemp and Lauren James all starting the season strongly and Nikita Parris among those staking a claim for a recall, performing so well will have put Mead straight back into Wiegman's plans.