Hayley Raso has been one of the stars for the host country Australia at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup despite facing a possible early retirement just five years ago. Raso, who has three goals for the quarterfinal-bound Matildas, was almost forced to hang up her cleats after an agonising back injury while representing the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Back in August 2018, Raso went down with a back injury during an NWSL game between her Thorns and the Washington Spirit. The issue was caused by an accidental collision with the Washington goalkeeper, whose knee slammed into Raso’s back.
The startling collision left Raso in incredible pain thanks to three fractured vertebrae. There were fears the forward would never walk again and the Australian spoke of the concern she felt in the aftermath of the tragic injury
“I couldn’t do anything at that moment, I was just in so much pain, I couldn’t move my body,” Raso told ABC just two months after the incident. “I can remember just saying: ‘Help me, help me.’
“I knew that something bad had happened. My athletic trainer came onto the field and she was asking me: ‘Can you feel your legs, can you wiggle your toes?’
“I was just thinking, you know, I have been hit in the back and I know these injuries can be serious.”
Days after suffering her horrific injury and fearing the worst, Raso thankfully received positive news from her medical team. “A neurosurgeon came in and spoke to me and said: ‘You will recover from this, it’s going to be hard, but you will play again.’
“In that moment I felt such relief because I had all these things in my head that I thought I was going to have to go through.”
Raso spent approximately 10 days in the hospital before she was moved to a local rehabilitation center, where the forward learned to walk again. “[Recovery] was hard. I couldn’t even move or roll over in bed let alone stand up,” the 28-year-old said.
“I had a few episodes where I passed out because of the pain and I went into shock. Eventually, I was able to get up, slowly and with a lot of help. I was firstly in a wheelchair then I went to using a walking frame and I was just taking really small steps trying to get around the hospital.”
After extensive rehabilitation, Raso returned to soccer just six months after the injury at the 2019 Cup of Nations. On her return, she incredibly scored just minutes into Australia’s clash with New Zealand.
During Australia’s home World Cup, Raso has emerged as one of the stars. She scored twice in the group stage before adding another in the Last 16 win over Denmark.
At club level, Raso joined Canberra United and Brisbane Roar on loan before joining Women’s Super League club Everton. Following an impressive two-year stint with Manchester City, Raso joined Real Madrid, becoming the first Australian and first-ever player from the Asian Confederation to play for the Spanish giants’ first team.