REPUBLIC OF IRELAND teenage star Ellen Molloy says she hasn’t “given up” on the World Cup dream as she continues her comeback from a cruciate ligament knee injury.
The 18-year-old sustained the setback in action for her club, Wexford Youths, last September, with Vera Pauw repeatedly all but ruling herself and Jess Ziu out of Ireland’s first-ever major tournament this summer.
“I haven’t given up myself,” Molloy told the media at yesterday’s Ireland WNT 50-Year Anniversary Event in Dublin. “I’m just going to do everything I can, but every girl in the country is going to do everything they can, so we’ll just wait and see.
“Vera is in touch every now and again to keep up with my progress. She is just asking me how I’m getting on, and I say I’m doing good. That’s all I can say, I’m not going to force myself into the team. I’m just going to stay quietly doing what I can. If I’m ready and if she sees that, we’ll just wait and see what happens. I just tell her the truth of what stage I’m at in my rehab. It’s good that she’s keeping in touch.”
The Kilkenny midfielder is aiming to be back for the second half of the SSE Women’s Premier Division season, hopeful for a return from her first long-term injury in June or July. “I don’t want to put a definite date on it, I don’t want to get my hopes up and I don’t want to rush it either.”
“It’s been really tough,” she admits. “For the first few months, it was almost like a loss of identity. It kind of put things into perspective as well, you are not going to play soccer forever, so what are you going to do afterwards?
“I was in college doing radiography and when I got injured, I realised I didn’t want to do that. Teaching was what I wanted to do. So I took the year out and I’m working [part-time in a coffee shop] and rehabbing, and dedicating the year to my knee.
“Some people say it was a blessing in disguise. I don’t know really, but I’m going to hopefully go back [to college] next year and do PE and Maths Teaching.”
Many backed Molloy to make the move across the water and join the ever-growing Irish contingent playing professionally in England. But the talented Thomastown native is keen to focus on all facets of life, rather than go all in with football right now.
That said, it remains an ambition.
“I’m a bit in two minds, I’m not going to just neglect my education to try and go professional. If I was in the middle of studying and an opportunity came up, I’d think about it.
“It’s definitely a dream of mine to go to England. When it happens, I don’t know. If I get injured again, I can’t not have a back-up plan. It’s definitely on the cards, a dream and a goal of mine to go to England and play professional. But at the same time, I do value education.”
