It’s been years of heartache for the men. Time for us to break Spurs’ curse
BETHANY ENGLAND has banished her injury hell and is ready to bring silverware to north London after 16-year wait
FA CUP finals have come around more often for Bethany England than they have for Tottenham. But as the Spurs captain prepares to lead her team out for their first ever Wembley appearance today, the striker feels lucky she was not forced into an early retirement before this season had begun.
‘Just before the last two games of last season I noticed I’d hurt myself in training but wasn’t really aware if it was a big problem . . . they didn’t think it was,’ England tells Mail Sport. ‘I ended up going away to the World Cup, but as the weeks went on, I was just in more and more pain, so I was having to manage that.
‘At the time, it wasn’t hindering me to the point where I couldn’t perform or play. It was just a bit uncomfortable when I was off the pitch. So it was a decision made to have a look afterwards.’
Nobody had worked harder than England to make the Lionesses’ World Cup squad. She had missed out on the last four camps before manager Sarina Wiegman made her final selection. Her 12 goals in 12 games proved to be enough to reclaim her place.
The forward went on to score a crucial penalty in the shootout against Nigeria, helping the Lionesses reach the quarter-finals, and returned home with a runners-up medal.
But it soon became clear that the minor injury she had sustained prior to the tournament was not so minor after all.
‘At the time, I was like, “I don’t want to get a scan”, because you fear the worst. If something does show up, you don’t want it to stop you from being able to compete in the competition.
‘I came back from Australia and had multiple scans which showed that I had quite a nasty hip labrum tear and tears in the cartilage at the back.
‘It could have been careerending had it ruptured any more than what it already had.’
England had surgery in September and in the following months had to get used to walking and moving in a different way.
‘I’ve always walked with quite inward feet since I was a child, which has also led to me having hip dysplasia and shallow hips, which I would have never known before had I not had these scans.
‘I’d spent 29 years walking a certain way, moving a certain way. My hip is now set in a different position so it affects the way I walk, the way I run, the way I kick the ball.
‘The rehabilitation of that was very mentally challenging. Your hip is your main function, you sit down, you stand up, you walk around. My right side is where I had the surgery and now my right foot is completely straight but my left foot still has a slight bend to it. I would always tend to kick the ball with the outside of my foot a lot and I didn’t realise I did that until someone pointed it out.
‘Now I tend not to do that so much on my right side because it’s in a different position. Even getting used to little things like that was a big adjustment, but it feels completely normal now.’
England travelled to every home and away match before making her Spurs comeback just before Christmas but says it took three to four months to feel like her old self again.
‘I think it was more the sharpness, not just physically but mentally. The speed of the game and everything like that.
‘There were always those worries of, “Am I going to be the same player again?” To have your entire mechanics change was something that I was very concerned about.
‘I think you can probably see in the performances that I’m starting to find form again and my confidence is growing with that.’
England joined Tottenham from Chelsea in January 2023 for a record fee between two WSL clubs and her goals helped save the club from relegation. The appointment of boss Robert Vilahamn, who named England as his captain despite her injury, has seen the club enjoy a much-improved season — with the FA Cup final against Manchester United set to be the highlight.
‘We all know the heartache that Tottenham have had. The last FA Cup win was 1991 on the men’s side and the last bit of silverware was in 2008,’ she said.
‘For us to be able to give back to the club for the trust and support they have put in the women’s side. The work they’ve put in from last season to this season has been phenomenal.’
England won 10 trophies with Chelsea, including two FA Cups, but says delivering a first piece of silverware for Spurs would be incredibly special.
‘It would rank very highly because I’d feel like I’ve been a part of something that I’ve been able to grow. When I joined Chelsea, they were already champions, they were a winning team. To be able to bring that type of mentality to Tottenham and try and lift the team with it would be amazing. If it does happen I think I’d probably be a bit speechless.’
● Bethany England is raising awareness of the importance of sun protection this summer, in partnership with O2.