leah williamson x y/n - one shots

leah's back! not a story

sorry guys this isn't a story i'm just very excited and very emotional and needed to put something out🥹 obviously i love to write and i have a degree in journalism so i'm using it to my advantage here to write a post. you don't have to read this if you don't want to but if you do read it, i really appreciate it and please leave some comments on how you're feeling now that she's back too :))

so leah returned from her acl injury last night, after 280 days of the hardest time of her life. the day it happened, she went down on the pitch just before the 12 minute mark, and instantly knew that the world cup dream was out the window. you can just tell when you watch it back how upset she was the second it happened, and over the last nine months she has had to go through things that she never wanted to deal with, not being able to do her job and play football, the thing she loved most, would've been heartbreaking.

the good thing about this though, is the fact she had time to rest, take time for herself, do some incredible things, such as writing a children's book, travelling to the US and speaking in front of some very important individuals, going to visit refugee camps and coaching young girls in football, and learning new skills, like playing the piano! she spent time doing some things she would not have been able to do if she was playing football, which i am sure looking back, she is grateful for the time she had to work on herself and do many new things.

obviously, having an acl injury is something that seriously damages your physical and mental health. during rehab and recovery, leah picked herself up every day, even when she felt like shit and just wanted to spend the day crying in bed, she had that resilience and motivation to get back up, and never quit, even though she worried when she first got injured that she wouldn't come back from this.

it has been a long journey, but all of leah's training days, rehab days, good days and bad, has paid off massively, and last night, wednesday 24th january 2024, she played a total of 36 minutes on the pitch, receiving an immense amount of support in the stadium, as well as online, and got an assist for beth mead's incredible goal, putting arsenal up to 6-0.

unsurprisingly, emotions were high, with kim little reaching her 300th appearance for arsenal also. the videos and photos from last night are still trending on twitter, and if i'm being the voice for most of us, i'm sure we all cried with leah at the end of that game with pride.

i couldn't be prouder of leah, she's my inspiration and last night was perfect in every way. she makes me the happiest girl alive, and last night i felt like the happiest, proudest person on the planet. the rest of the season is looking amazing, and i can't wait to see some more assists, tackles, goals and more (even a yellow card just for a laugh!)

19th april 2023 - 24th january 2024

goodbye, acl club. leah will not miss you xxxxx

next graduate, laura...🥲

p.s. if any of you have been watching the edits of leah's comeback on tiktok, go give me a follow on there, i post lots of edits hehe :))
@ williqmsons
also thank you all so much for (almost) 10K reads! i love writing these imagines for you all and it means so much that you all love them too! got some more coming out soon so stay tuned xx