A few hours after Chloe Logarzo collapsed on the field during a friendly against the Republic of Ireland last September, head coach Tony Gustavsson bumped into her in the hallway of the team hotel.
She was on crutches, her right leg in a brace. Scans were three days away, but she already knew what had happened. Everyone who watched her knee twist awkwardly in the grass did, too.
Gustavsson had spoken to her briefly in the tight corridors of the Shamrock Rovers Stadium, but he wanted to see how she was doing after the adrenaline and emotion of the game had worn off.
But before he could offer his support, Logarzo looked him straight in the eyes and said: "Tony, you know what? This is going to make me a better player. I'm going to commit like I've never done before. I'm going to have that World Cup in the back of my head, and I'm going to be back stronger than ever. I promise you."
It's been almost a year since that conversation and Logarzo has kept her promise.
The 27-year-old is the surprise name in the Matildas' 23-player squad to face Olympic gold medallists Canada in a two-game friendly series beginning on Saturday.
Even though 12 months can be a long time in the life of an athlete, for Logarzo — whose career has been defined by a kind of relentless perseverance — it hasn't seemed that way.
"This year feels like it's gone by so quickly," she said.
"I know that most people say it's quite slow, but I feel like there's been a lot going on with the Matildas and me individually.
"I was very fortunate that I was able to move around a lot; I think that really helped with my recovery, being able to go from the US to Australia and then back [again]. When I was transitioning through my rehab from not being able to run to running to coming back to field play, every time I transitioned to a big movement, I also moved.
"That also allowed me to have a fresh set of eyes, a fresh set of people around me. It really re-energised me and gave me a little more 'oomph' to be able to get back onto the field a little bit quicker than normal."
Of course, it is easier to reflect on a journey in hindsight. The feelings were different when she was in the thick of it, separated from the work and the people that had structured her days, forced out of the rhythms and routines that had become second nature.
A lot happened to the Matildas in Logarzo's absence: home friendlies against Brazil and the USA, a failed Asian Cup campaign, further games against New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal. As the team navigated their on- and off-field dilemmas, all Logarzo could do was watch from the sidelines.
"Hopeless and helpless is probably the best way of putting it," she said.
"Just trying to stay connected with the team, trying to stay connected with our morals and our values, and just being there as much as I can without actually being there has probably been the most interesting part for me.
"I feel like I would want to contribute to the team as much as I possibly can, but I've been doing everything possible outside of being able to physically be in camp by having meetings with the coaches.
"I'm a player that loves to be able to physically turn up — and I think that's my biggest attribute to the Matildas — [but] playing a different role has been eye-opening and a nice way to be able to appreciate the Matildas a little bit more."
The disconnection she felt from the team also extended to herself and the relationship she formed with her own body.
After several years of elite training and competition, monitored diets and strict gym workouts, she was suddenly thrust into an unusually sedentary life.
As athletes are often taught to do, she noticed every small change: the loss of muscle mass, the decreasing flexibility, the slowing reaction times, the weight changes.
One of the most difficult parts of recovery was wrestling with the emotions of living in a body that was, in many ways, out of her control.
"I was struggling a lot mentally with my body image and how it changed throughout my ACL injury," she said.
"I got myself into [a position where] I thought I wasn't in a bad place, but I could see myself kind of slipping away.
"So it was a good opportunity for me to see how my body changes without training as much as I possibly can. [I saw] my mental health slipping away while trying to say everything was okay.
"So for me now, being back to what I am and who I am — and having a purpose off the field and on the field as well — has really kind of aligned myself, and it made me realise that keeping my mental health in check was really important.
"Having football taken away from me, what I deem was probably at a really critical time just before a World Cup, put me in this position where I had to re-find myself, which was great. It just took me a little bit [of time] and it was quite interesting to see all the changes happening.
"But in saying that, throughout the process of my knee, I've really found out a lot more about myself. I've always said that injuries give you an opportunity to rebuild yourself, and for me, it's definitely made me more mentally tough. And leading into this World Cup, I think I'll bring something a little more edgy to myself and hopefully to the team about having that inner grit to want to keep pushing myself.
"I said to Tony that I will dedicate this entire process to getting back to where I was and potentially being better than I was before, and I've meant that."
True to her character, Logarzo — the determined woman in the hallway — never stopped moving.
While she felt disconnected from the Matildas physically, her injury allowed her to find other ways to connect with the team and the sport more generally, including being involved in broadcasts of Matildas and A-League Women games.
"Doing my knee a little bit later on in my career allowed me to have the mental stability to be able to handle what comes with an injury like this," she said.
"Being able to step away from the game and have the support network to really lean on, and having my identity outside of football allowed me to lean on those qualities in life outside, for me to prosper and really grow in my football career and take advantage of all the opportunities that I get outside of football.
"So although I missed out on quite possibly my last Asian Cup, I was really fortunate to be doing the commentary for it and sit on the other side of the field. That really made me feel engaged with the Matildas, as if I was right there."
Part of that off-field work has been becoming more visible in the LGBTQIA+ space, with Logarzo, who proposed to her partner McKenzie earlier this year, leading Football Australia's first ever float at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
The opportunity to take a step outside of football has also afforded Logarzo a rare kind of perspective for a player on the current state and direction of the Matildas: something that has been questioned by fans and media over the past six months.
Not only does she have a better understanding of the culture and conversations outside of the team, but that exposure has made her realise and appreciate what the Matildas have built on the inside even more.
"When we're in camp, we're in this bubble of belief that we have for the team. But being an outsider and being on the media side, it made me realise how harsh people are and how quickly people criticise everyone without understanding the hard work and day-to-day desires that happen within the camp," she said.
"It's quite hard to sit on both sides without kind of being like, 'hey guys, you need to give us a little bit more [credit] because you don't really understand that sometimes 'results' aren't always what we're looking for.'
"Maybe we're trying something different or we're getting new people in, and what is deemed the 'big wins' for us might not seem like the results everyone else would want. If we don't win a game, but we actually get out what we want to of the game, for us, that's a win. Even though the score won't reflect that.
"We've always been taught that we don't really listen to the media when we're inside camp, obviously because of the negative and positive feedback that we get. So we want to stay inside our circle and what we believe in is the only thing that really matters.
"So it was interesting to sit on the other side and hear everyone speak about what goes on inside our camp and almost speculating.
"It's kind of feeling like an impostor, sitting on both sides, but it's definitely made me realise what we have inside the national team is really special and everyone needs to stay on board.
"It's not a short game, it's a long game. What we are trying to achieve is something greater than what might happen in the short term."
A year can feel like a lifetime depending on what you do with it, and as she comes up on the 12-month anniversary of her injury, Logarzo is embracing every moment she is given.
While she's not expecting to get any minutes against Canada, she doesn't mind: just being there, after all this, is enough to keep her moving.
"I'm unsure what my potential will be when I go into camp. I'm just extremely grateful to be attending," she said.
"I can't wait to put the jersey back on and be surrounded by all the girls, it's been such a long time.
"I know all the girls say this, but we're definitely like family. It's been amazing to have the support of the team behind me every step of the way, whether I'm there or not.
"There will be tears. I can guarantee there's going to be lots of tears."
