FOR MANY, a season-ending injury like an ACL rupture would be a devastating blow, something that would take days, weeks, even months to really understand and accept.

Melbourne’s Liv Purcell allowed herself two days of disappointment before turning her attention to the next steps of her rehab journey.

Not because she wasn’t devastated – she was – but because she’d be in that situation before and knew what it took to get back to full football strength.

Four years ago, when Purcell was playing for Geelong, the then 19-year-old ruptured her right ACL, putting a pause on her career and development as a young star of the league.

This year, during Melbourne’s Round 2 game against St Kilda, Purcell ruptured her left ACL, once again putting a stop to her career, now one where she has cemented herself as one of the best midfielders in the competition. 

“It all happened quite quickly,” Purcell said.

“I was going for a tackle and I just planted my foot. The opponent sort of twisted back into me, and that's when my knee gave way.

“I thought maybe I was just sore or tight and I was honestly just hoping for the best. I feel like your mind can slip, but I was trying to fight my mind.

“Once I got told the news, I was devastated, but I also just accepted it, that's the reality of what it is.

“Because I’ve done my ACL before, I let myself have the whole day and the next day to be emotional and then because I knew what it was, I knew I could start moving forward.”

Two days of emotion and then the question of “what’s next?” was posed to the club doctor Tess King.

King was quick to get Purcell in to see a surgeon, and it wasn’t long before she was underway with the next steps of surgery and recovery.

Following surgery, the 25-year-old travelled down to Barwon Heads for two weeks of rest with her family, an important time to disconnect from the world of AFLW.

“A week after my first appointment with the surgeon, they were able to operate. So, again, it all happens pretty quickly,” Purcell said.

“I feel like that helped with my mindset, to just keep moving forward into the next phase and then it was really nice to get down the coast, Mick [Stinear] and the club were really supportive and let me have my time.

“Barwon Heads is where my family is based and I was obviously quite bedridden following the surgery, I couldn't do much, so it was nice having their company.

“When you're in that type of situation you become a bit more grateful that you get to do those little things like being outside and being by the ocean.

Once she returned to the club, the slow and arduous journey back to fitness began.

The early stages of ACL rehab are filled with tiny milestones, such as straightening and bending the leg.

While often a difficult part of the process due to pain and limited movement, Purcell credits her calm during this time to having previously been through the experience with her right knee four years prior.

“It’s interesting at the start, your knee goes through so much during that surgery, so the beginning of rehab was just being able to get that swelling down and then not being afraid to actually move my leg,” Purcell said.

“I feel like there can be a bit of fear to move it because it can be quite sore, but because I have done my knee before I was able to allow myself to straighten my leg, lock it out and then practice bending it.

“That’s the first thing to focus on and then that helps with getting your walking and your gait back properly. I was literally just trying to learn to walk again.”

With the first two months of rehab finished, Purcell is now building on her strength in the gym and continuing to further develop her running technique.

While the physical side of rehab was slowly getting ticked off, often one of the biggest effects on an injured athlete is the mental load of being on the sidelines for an extended period.

As you can probably already tell, Purcell’s mindset is solid, not allowing herself to get too hung up on the long-term aspect of the journey.

“I’m trying to not think about what's next all the time, because then you're just thinking about getting back and that’s too far ahead,” Purcell said.

“To me, those things are exciting, because that's more than what I was able to do last week. The little gains that you get each week, it makes it more enjoyable. I was bedridden not too long ago, so it's about knowing where you came from that helps your mindset.”

As she continues to focus on her rehab journey, her attention also shifts to supporting the team as they take on finals footy.

“The club have been awesome with helping me out, sometimes you feel a little bit helpless when you're on the sidelines, but the coaches give me little things to do that help the team,” Purcell said.

“On the off day the group does a skills session, and I’ve finally been able to join in and just have fun with it, that’s why I love footy, being able to get back into those things and be around the girls.

“Those little things make you still feel like a valued part of the team and have helped me still feel involved this season.”