Jordan Nobbs interview: ‘Missing out on the World Cup was heartbreaking’

The England international opens up on her injury struggles, the influence of her dad and the next generation of women footballers

Jordan Nobbs exudes positivity. The Arsenal and England midfielder has had a difficult year but has emerged from the experience as a stronger person. “I’m in a good place now,” she said. “The last few months have been about building my game time. I’m back to the full 90 minutes.”

Nobbs ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during a Women’s Super League match against Everton last November, forcing her to miss the World Cup. A year on the 26-year-old is back playing international football. Tonight she will face the Czech Republic in Ceske Budejovice. Games like this – and England’s 2-1 defeat at Wembley on Saturday in front of 77,768 people – felt like a long way away 12 months ago.

“You take the injury in phases,” she said. “When you first have the surgery you feel like you are never going to be able to bend your knee again. You take each month as it comes. You realise that you have to strip back everything and concentrate on building your knee in the gym again. I was in the gym for four or five months before I stepped on a pitch.”

There were some bleak moments. “You have dark times,” she said. “Most players will agree that injury is the one of the most difficult psychological challenges in football. Some never recover and others have problems throughout their career but injury is always going to come your way. With the amount you train and the intensity of games you have to accept that.”

What was hard to accept was that such a long layoff occurred before the World Cup. Missing out on the tournament was a huge blow. “It was heartbreaking,” Nobbs said. “In the women’s game you’re not known as a top-class player unless you play in a major tournament. I want to be seen on the world stage as a top, top player. For the club I’ve shown my level but for my country I haven’t had that moment to put myself on the pedestal. It was disappointing but right now I’ve moved on from it and just have to focus on the future.”

With every setback comes opportunity and Nobbs was given the chance to cover the World Cup as a pundit for the BBC. She relished the role. “It was bittersweet,” she admits. “But it was an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often. I had to grab it with both hands. It was a chance for me to learn something new within the game and hopefully for the future. It was a chance to do something in front of millions of people and still play a part in the World Cup.”

There will be other tournaments with England in the future and Nobbs back close to her best. Does the injury prey on her mind? “No,” she said. “Throughout the process of recovering from the injury you go through certain drills and movement patterns that allow you to build your confidence to a high level. If you want to be a top footballer you have to move on from the injury. It’s very difficult but it’s something you’ve got to do if you want to be back on that pitch.”

Football is in the Nobbs family blood. Her father, Keith, made more than 250 appearances for Hartlepool United and the former defender guided his daughter in making the right career choices. “Dad inspired me,” she said. “He was a professional footballer. He had a ball at our feet every second of the day. When I was playing seven-a-side, he took me out of the team to play 11-a-side. When I was going to Middlesbrough, he took me to Sunderland because they had better players. When you’re young you need the right person directing you to progress as a player and he definitely did that. Football wasn’t something I watched massively as a kid but I’d be outside playing it 24/7.”

Nobbs is an all-action midfielder so it is no surprise to find that the player she looked up to as a child was one of England’s finest exponents in the position. “Steven Gerrard was my icon,” she said. But it was more than his skill on the pitch that appealed to the youngster. “It wasn’t just his football, it was his passion,” she continued. “I’m very big on that. It’s the same at Arsenal. I don’t think you should come to a club like that and not be passionate about wearing that badge. That’s what he did as a player. He showed how much he wanted to win and the love for his club. He was a player I idolised as a kid.

“I’d like to think when I finish my career people will respect what I did at Arsenal and the loyalty and love I showed.”

The next generation of girls will have players like Nobbs to idolise. The women’s game is making massive strides and the England star is delighted to be playing a part in the expansion. “We’ve been able to create a platform that allows young girls to get into football from an early age,” she said. “Now there are lifestyle and job opportunities available. You can fulfil your dreams doing something you want to do. If young girls want to play they should get involved and hopefully they’ll be playing for England one day.”

Cementing a place in the national team is very much on Nobbs’ mind. “I’m not looking too far ahead,” she said. “I just want to keep performing at a very high level and be on the team sheet each week for Arsenal as much as I can. I want to be in Phil Neville’s thoughts for the Olympics. That’s my goal. Right now I have to take each week as it comes and look after my body.”

Nobbs is living proof that it is possible to bounce back. What advice would she offer others undergoing the tortuous process of rehabilitation or similarly tough times? “Accept what’s happened and accept your emotions,” she said. “It’s OK to be angry some days, to cry – even to the extent that you go to the gym and say, ‘I just need to go home and refresh my mind.’

Jordan Nobbs has set her sights on the Olympics with England (Getty)

“Allow those emotions but you have to recover and look after yourself in the long term. Never mind just football, but afterwards. Stick with the process, believe in yourself and know that you’re strong enough to get through it.”

No one could ever doubt Nobbs’ strength. She is back and aims to be better than ever.

Head & Shoulders, Official Hair Care Partner of the England Team and the UK’s #1 anti dandruff shampoo brand, met Jordan Nobbs before England’s match against the Czech Republic