Chelsea and England midfielder Fran Kirby returned to rapturous applause in October after an eight-month absence to overcome a recurring knee injury.
She was forced to miss the World Cup in which the Lionesses reached the final and was unavailable domestically as the Blues topped the Women's Super League.
Now, back for both club and country, Kirby has shared her concerns about the growing pressure around body image and the frequency of serious injuries in women’s football.
In a mini-documentary for Chelsea’s official channels, Kirby stressed that there remains a stigma around nutrition in women’s football.
"I think there still is a big fear of carbs," she said. "Not just in myself but in the women’s game in terms of fuelling and being ready for a game, being able to withstand the level for 90+ minutes. There is that stigma around it. As the game is growing I do believe it’s become more noticeable that people are getting comments about their weight or how they look on TV or in pictures.
"That shouldn’t matter. What body type you are, how you look in a dress, how you look in a kit… It's something that should be championed, to be strong. And if that means you have to eat more, you’re doing the right things that your body needs – not just for how you look on camera."
The film cuts to a shot of Kirby wearing a jacket as she walks to training in bright sunshine.
"How are you wearing a jacket?” someone calls out off-camera. “Because I get called ‘fat’ all the time,” Kirby responds.
Reacting to Kirby's comments, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said: “I'm really glad that Fran said out loud what so many female players do not say enough.
"The media need to be mindful of the insecurities that might be there and body shaming is a real thing. The players feel it and I was proud of Fran for saying that because as women we're judged enough to look a certain way.
"But in order to perform at the level that you need to, you need to eat carbs, as well as a healthy diet, and unfortunately there is a problem in the game.
"There is a problem in sport with under-fuelling and under-loading. That comes with the constant demands to look a certain way and, unfortunately, a vitriolic environment that comes from social media.
"I always urge everybody to be mindful of that because we're destroying people in many ways."
There’s another challenge facing women’s footballers: knee injuries. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are particularly prevalent, sidelining Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema in recent times.
"Obviously we’re seeing in the women’s game how many women are struggling with knee injuries in general," Kirby says. "It’s probably one of the most important topics in terms of being an athlete. It’s something that gets neglected.
"There has been research around it but I don’t think it’s something we’ve invested enough time into.
"I’ve had knee problems my whole career… when you're not playing it’s really hard to stay positive. And you have to. I think it's taken me my whole career to understand that."
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