Fran Kirby knew something was wrong, very wrong, when she could no longer climb her stairs without resting halfway. The Chelsea and England No 10 – once described as her country’s Mini Messi – was also suffering stabbing chest pains, breathlessness, nausea and dizziness. Medics feared her career could be over.
“I was extremely vulnerable and very poorly for a long time,” says Kirby, looking a picture of health while addressing a computer screen in the first-floor bedroom she no longer struggles to reach.
The creator whose attacking promptings are expected to provide plenty of goals for Chelsea’s new £300,000 signing, Pernille Harder, had contracted a virus that attacked her heart. It was last November and Europe remained blissfully unaware of Covid-19 when a different infection took an unfortunate shine to Kirby, causing her to develop pericarditis.
Possibly the only good news was that, in Emma Hayes, Kirby had a manager prepared to go the extra mile to support a 27-year-old whose teenage years were scarred by severe depression, occasioned by her mother’s death. “When I wasn’t feeling great I could just go into Emma’s office, cry in front of her and not feel embarrassed,” says Kirby.
“Emma’s been incredible. She’s been my rock; the person who made sure I was protected from everything. I had no idea what the illness was but she was the one questioning the doctor all the time, asking: ‘Can we try this, can we try that?’ It meant so much. I’m never going to be not grateful for what people have done for me these last few months – Chelsea’s doctor was incredible and my teammates were amazing – but Emma’s top of that list: 100%.”
As Kirby jokes about her long hair and reveals she has not had it trimmed once since the European Championship in the Netherlands in 2017, it is hard to credit that concern about her condition was such that Chelsea kept the pericarditis diagnosis secret until February. Yet as soon as she started going outside again, the pandemic struck. “I’d had three months prep for it,” she says. “I’d been in self-isolation long before everyone went into lockdown.”
Now, finally, the Women’s Super League is set to resume with Chelsea – awarded the title ahead of Manchester City on a points per game basis following last season’s curtailment in March – kicking off at Manchester United today.
“It’ll be good to get the buzz back,” says Kirby. “The last nine months have made me realise how precious these moments, these games, are. And how you should never take things for granted. I’m really excited. I’ve found a new energy for everything. Most importantly, I’ve found myself again. I’ve learned a lot about myself and the people around me and how important they are. It’s been a tough journey but it’s definitely shaped me into who I am now.”
Kirby – dubbed “our Mini Messi” by the-then England manager Mark Sampson at the 2015 World Cup in Canada and an international whom the outgoing England coach, Phil Neville, has said he would not swap for Brazil’s much-lauded Marta – believes she has emerged a much-improved player. “If I’m honest, I feel better now,’ she says. “I’ve come back in really good shape and I’ve been getting some really positive feedback from the coaches and the girls. They’re saying it’s like having a new signing.
“For the past few months I’ve been entirely focused on how I can improve. Although there was a period when the cardiologist told me that, if I didn’t slow down, the illness could become chronic and I wouldn’t be able to play again, I knew I was going to get over it. Getting a starting place here now is super-competitive but I like to push myself, to be a winner.”
Given Chelsea’s formidable squad, such a mindset seems imperative. “There’s going to be a lot of players, full internationals, on the bench who won’t be happy,” says Kirby, who has an ambitious, between-the-lines playing style. “It’s a very, very competitive atmosphere but, as a squad, we’re good at dealing with happiness and disappointment. No one’s shouting or bragging because they’re starting or moping around because they’re not. Of course you have to focus on yourself as an individual but, as a team, we’re very good at taking time out to speak to other players, making sure they’re OK. To win things, you need that balance.”
Last winter Kirby’s teammates proved critical to the maintenance of her emotional equilibrium. “I wasn’t able to get out the house much at first,” she says. “I was sofa-ridden for a couple of months but the girls always made an effort to come round, even if I wasn’t in the shape for conversation. That meant everything. Now I want to help them win every game, every trophy.”
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