ERIN KING SUFFERED her complicated knee injury after just a couple of minutes of Ireland’s Six Nations game against England in April.
The reigning World Rugby breakthrough player of the year sensed something wasn’t right, but simply asked the Irish physio to strap up the knee.
King somehow completed the full 80 minutes that day and was one of Ireland’s top tacklers. It was only post-match when she went for a scan that the severity of the injury became clear.
“I ended up taking a big chunk of cartilage off the back of my kneecap, which is really peculiar,” said King this week, five-and-a-half months on from surgery.
King would have been one of Ireland’s key players in the current World Cup but once the injury was diagnosed, she knew her dream of playing in this tournament was over.
At different stages of her rehab, King was told that her playing career might be over altogether and while she still has lots of hard work ahead of her to make a comeback, the 21-year-old is feeling optimistic.
The first thing in April was for the medical experts to figure out how they would operate on an injury they didn’t know much about.
“They haven’t seen it,” says King. “We still don’t know really how it happened.
“It was just the impact, it was almost my full kneecap.
“They still haven’t really found anyone who’s done anything like it.”
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King at Canterbury and Intersport Elverys’ launch of the 2025/256 Ireland jersey. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
After much consideration, King underwent a procedure known as nanofracture.
“They actually took collagen out of a pig and put it on my kneecap as a bit of a structure,” says King.
“So it’s there’s still so much uncertainty around it.
“You know, I was told at times that I’d never play again and things like that, which is tough to hear at the age of 21.”
She had a knee brace on for the first 12 weeks, so her leg was locked in full extension and she couldn’t bend it at the knee for three full months.
King says the support of her Ireland team-mates in those early stages was essential. They rallied around her during the toughest times and provided her with constant encouragement.
It helped that King had seen some of them come through major injuries recently. Ireland scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly ruptured the ACLs in both of her knees, missing the Olympics as a result, while Béibhinn Parsons suffered back-to-back leg breaks.
Irish skipper Sam Monaghan was out for over a year with a serious knee injury, while Dorothy Wall ruptured her Achilles tendon before the World Cup and has been rehabbing alongside King.
It also helped that King is an extremely determined character. She didn’t entertain the notion of her career being over and got stuck into the hard work with IRFU physio Eduard Mias.
“I definitely didn’t accept it and just the nature of the person I am, I wouldn’t,” she says.
“The way rehab’s going, we’re putting everything into it and the IRFU are putting a lot into me, which is great. I’m so lucky to be at the HPC [high performance centre] every day and to get the best treatment and the best care.
“I just want to be back out on that pitch and it’s definitely giving me a new perspective, and in the long run, I think I’ll benefit from it and I’m learning so much about myself and about how lucky I have been.
“I’ve had some great days playing for Ireland and I know I’ll have more of them. Honestly, there’s no doubt in my mind. I’m pretty stubborn and I’ll be back out there.”
King was named World Rugby breakthough player of the year in 2024. Travis Prior / INPHO
Travis Prior / INPHO / INPHO
King has been able to start back into some jumping recently and hopes to get running in the next few weeks as the muscles in her leg continue to get stronger.
She is hoping to make her comeback from in Ireland’s opening game of the 2026 Six Nations against England on Saturday 11 April. That would be almost exactly a full year after being injured against the English, which would make it a “very full circle” moment.
Of course, it has been tough for her watching on as Ireland play at the World Cup. King went over to the UK for their win over Spain and will be there in Exeter tomorrow as they face France in the quarter-finals.
While King is a cool customer on the pitch, she finds the experience of watching her team completely nerve-wracking.
They’d love to have her in the team tomorrow but King’s role will be to roar them on from the touchline. She firmly believes Ireland have what it takes to cause an upset against the French, all the more so after the frustration of last weekend’s defeat to New Zealand.
And King also believes that her time to shine on this global stage is ahead of her.
“The women’s game is only getting bigger and even the excitement around this World Cup, the sold-out stadiums, you know, there’s times I’m watching it and I’d just love to play in front of a sold-out stadium and things like that.
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'They took collagen out of a pig and put it on my kneecap'
ERIN KING SUFFERED her complicated knee injury after just a couple of minutes of Ireland’s Six Nations game against England in April.
The reigning World Rugby breakthrough player of the year sensed something wasn’t right, but simply asked the Irish physio to strap up the knee.
King somehow completed the full 80 minutes that day and was one of Ireland’s top tacklers. It was only post-match when she went for a scan that the severity of the injury became clear.
“I ended up taking a big chunk of cartilage off the back of my kneecap, which is really peculiar,” said King this week, five-and-a-half months on from surgery.
King would have been one of Ireland’s key players in the current World Cup but once the injury was diagnosed, she knew her dream of playing in this tournament was over.
At different stages of her rehab, King was told that her playing career might be over altogether and while she still has lots of hard work ahead of her to make a comeback, the 21-year-old is feeling optimistic.
The first thing in April was for the medical experts to figure out how they would operate on an injury they didn’t know much about.
“They haven’t seen it,” says King. “We still don’t know really how it happened.
“It was just the impact, it was almost my full kneecap.
“They still haven’t really found anyone who’s done anything like it.”
After much consideration, King underwent a procedure known as nanofracture.
“They actually took collagen out of a pig and put it on my kneecap as a bit of a structure,” says King.
“So it’s there’s still so much uncertainty around it.
“You know, I was told at times that I’d never play again and things like that, which is tough to hear at the age of 21.”
She had a knee brace on for the first 12 weeks, so her leg was locked in full extension and she couldn’t bend it at the knee for three full months.
King says the support of her Ireland team-mates in those early stages was essential. They rallied around her during the toughest times and provided her with constant encouragement.
It helped that King had seen some of them come through major injuries recently. Ireland scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly ruptured the ACLs in both of her knees, missing the Olympics as a result, while Béibhinn Parsons suffered back-to-back leg breaks.
Irish skipper Sam Monaghan was out for over a year with a serious knee injury, while Dorothy Wall ruptured her Achilles tendon before the World Cup and has been rehabbing alongside King.
It also helped that King is an extremely determined character. She didn’t entertain the notion of her career being over and got stuck into the hard work with IRFU physio Eduard Mias.
“I definitely didn’t accept it and just the nature of the person I am, I wouldn’t,” she says.
“The way rehab’s going, we’re putting everything into it and the IRFU are putting a lot into me, which is great. I’m so lucky to be at the HPC [high performance centre] every day and to get the best treatment and the best care.
“I just want to be back out on that pitch and it’s definitely giving me a new perspective, and in the long run, I think I’ll benefit from it and I’m learning so much about myself and about how lucky I have been.
“I’ve had some great days playing for Ireland and I know I’ll have more of them. Honestly, there’s no doubt in my mind. I’m pretty stubborn and I’ll be back out there.”
King has been able to start back into some jumping recently and hopes to get running in the next few weeks as the muscles in her leg continue to get stronger.
She is hoping to make her comeback from in Ireland’s opening game of the 2026 Six Nations against England on Saturday 11 April. That would be almost exactly a full year after being injured against the English, which would make it a “very full circle” moment.
Of course, it has been tough for her watching on as Ireland play at the World Cup. King went over to the UK for their win over Spain and will be there in Exeter tomorrow as they face France in the quarter-finals.
While King is a cool customer on the pitch, she finds the experience of watching her team completely nerve-wracking.
They’d love to have her in the team tomorrow but King’s role will be to roar them on from the touchline. She firmly believes Ireland have what it takes to cause an upset against the French, all the more so after the frustration of last weekend’s defeat to New Zealand.
And King also believes that her time to shine on this global stage is ahead of her.
“The women’s game is only getting bigger and even the excitement around this World Cup, the sold-out stadiums, you know, there’s times I’m watching it and I’d just love to play in front of a sold-out stadium and things like that.
“But I know my day will come.”
Erin King was speaking at Canterbury and Intersport Elverys’ launch of the 2025/256 Ireland jersey.
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