EXCLUSIVE: Maisie Symonds battles through life-threatening illness to resume football career and pursue England U23 dream

Maisie Symonds remembers dragging herself to Wembley to watch England win the European Championship. The Brighton midfielder, who represented the U19s at a European Championship two months earlier, was suffering from what she thought was a bad cold.

“I was convinced I was going to the final,” Symonds told Mail Sport. ‘I was with my friends and they were like ‘come on, you have to come’.

“I remember I had a double espresso shot, a turmeric shot and just got down the painkillers.

“Then we went to the game, celebrated together, and the next day it all hit me.”

Symonds managed to fly with Brighton to their pre-season tour in Germany, but after being unable to get out of bed he was sent back to England and immediately admitted to hospital. The midfielder was diagnosed with glandular fever and hepatitis, but there were other complications.

Maisie Symonds (hidden) of Brighton & Hove Albion celebrates with teammates after scoring their side’s first goal during a WSL match against Leicester

“I got so sick, to the point where my spleen, the organ that fights disease, ruptured,” says Symonds. ‘That was the real problem. I had to stay in the hospital for three weeks because they weren’t sure if I needed to have surgery to have it removed.

“They decided not to, but that meant they had to keep an eye on me because if the lake ruptured they would have had to take it out right away.”

Glandular fever is a disease resulting from fatigue, which made the return to football far from easy.

‘It was very difficult and when I spoke to the doctors they said: ‘It will be at least six months before you can even train again.’

‘When I was so sick, I didn’t even think about training anymore. It was just ‘Get me out of the hospital.’ I just wanted to go home, I wanted to feel comfortable and do normal things again.

‘I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t get out of bed. It was the pain under my ribs, even talking was difficult. My mom came in and tried to make me laugh and I said, “Don’t, it’s so painful to laugh!” Even sneezing would hurt.

‘When I started training again, I wasn’t allowed to make contact until the scar on my spleen had reached a certain size.

‘I had ultrasound scans every week. That process was very difficult, just waiting to get back in touch with football. When I came back I tore a ligament in my ankle because my body wasn’t up to speed anymore.’

“I was convinced I was going to the final,” Symonds told Mail Sport. ‘I was with my friends and they were like ‘come on, you have to come’

Even if Symonds was ready to return to contact training, the aftereffects of her illness would leave her exhausted.

‘Then I could see how far gone and out of shape I was. It was pretty terrible because I would be tired after three steps. I was like ‘oh my god, this is how far I am from being able to run 90 minutes on the weekend’. That’s when it really dawned on me.’

Symonds’ eventual return to action coincided with Brighton’s appointment of manager Mel Phillips in April. The midfielder had a month to impress before her contract expired.

“Mel came in at the end of last year, she hadn’t seen me play before because I’d been out for a whole year, so it was actually a lot of pressure for me to get back into training because I only had a month or so. to impress her and make her want to keep me.

‘I didn’t even think about that at the time, I just enjoyed getting back on the pitch and playing again. It didn’t take long before Mel told me she believed in me and the club offered me a new contract. The club has really supported me. At that time I was far from my best, nor my strongest, but they put a lot of trust in me. Hopefully I can pay them back.”

Phillips is not the only manager who has shown confidence in Symonds. Former England boss Hope Powell handed the midfielder her professional debut in 2021 after signing her from Chelsea.

‘Hope was a different type of coach than I was used to. It was a bit of a shock to the system because at Chelsea I always played in teams with a lot of ball possession.

‘When I came to Brighton it was the complete opposite. It was a lot of running and hard work. Hope was quite old fashioned in that regard. It was tough love at first, but she always reminded me that she believed in me and had a lot of faith in me.”

Brighton, who play Manchester United this Sunday, are an ambitious club aiming to move up the WSL table. Phillips’ team has its own building and elite training facilities on the same site as Roberto De Zerbi’s team.

Enoch Mwepu, Victoria Williams, Steven Alzate and Maisie Symonds at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton

Former England boss Hope Powell handed the midfielder her professional debut in 2021 after signing her from Chelsea

‘I always think there is no excuse not to do well there because there is everything you could wish for. ‘There are top class coaches, players and facilities. It’s up to me and the players to perform and use it to the best of our ability. Our club’s ambition is to become a top four team. I want us to be a force in the WSL.”

Just over a year after her illness, Symonds’ aim is to become a regular starter for Brighton and break into the England U23 squad, with the aim of reaching the first team.

‘I’m just really trying to enjoy football and get fit and strong again. I want to have a good season and try to be in the starting line-up and push myself to play for England and get back into that group.

“It’s been over a year now since (her illness), but I finally feel like I’m getting there, I finally feel like I’m back to my best.”