Monica Forsyth: Hearts star opens up on injury nightmare, road to recovery, club progress and Scotland goal

Monica Forsyth has had a massive last 18 months, from winning Hearts’ young player of the season awared to being ruled out for a year. Now back in the starting 11, the 19-year-old talks about her difficult journey on the road to recovery – as well as her ambitions to get into the national team.

Initially joining on loan in late 2020, the winger made an instant impact for the Jam Tarts, and soon signed permanently for the club. However, bad luck would soon strike as the former Celtic graduate picked up an injury in the Edinburgh derby in her first full season. Playing at the top of her game, Forsyth was devastated by the news and had to come to terms with her new reality.

“The injury happened halfway through the season; I was playing well,” she told the Evening News. “I was probably at my best physically and mentally. Getting the injury was hard, coming to terms with not playing football. Going from starting at Tynecastle against Hibs and coming back knowing I wouldn’t be playing football for the foreseeable future.”

Originally, scans initially showed that the injury was less severe, with Forsyth put on a four-month rehab programme. However, follow-up scans revealed things had in fact worsened, and she would need surgery. Forsyth explains how difficult that period was and how she kept herself going throughout the 12 months.

Monica Forsyth joined on loan from Celtic in December 2020 before signing permanently. Credit: Hearts Women.

“I had worked so hard for four months thinking I would be back, to then just being placed back at the start,” she explained. “At that point I just had to detach from football for a bit and accept the fact I wasn’t going to see the pitch for another six months and try and enjoy the other aspects of life.

"People I was with who didn’t know much about football helped a lot. Looking back at it now, you always forget how hard those days in rehab were and how long it was. The hardest part was being on crutches and being so far away from being back. Once I was back in the gym, you just give yourself small goals and slowly build yourself back up and try to forget about how bad you started.

"Then when you are within eight weeks from being back on the pitch you are doing sessions, trying to get back physically and you are so motivated. There is always that motivation throughout it even with that 12-month injury because you are going back to something you love and something that really brings you the most joy – it puts in all into perspective.”

Over the 12-month period Hearts completely changed on and off the pitch, the club becoming semi-professional in the summer. Numerous new players joined the club professionally and team made aq good start to the season, moving up from the lower ends of the table and now find themselves in fourth place. The team’s success became a big motivator for the former Scottish youth international on her route back to fitness.

Eva Olid will be hoping her team can continue their current form in 2023. Credit: Malcolm MacKenzie

“I have almost been a bystander,” she explained. “When I got injured, it was a completely different team compared to now. It was hard to be around this new exciting team and not to be part of it in the training sessions and the games.

“Hearts has always been a great support to the injured players. Just being around the team as they train, play and get better with professional players getting involved was a motivator for me – just to get back and learn off these new players they have brought in. Being fourth in the league right now just shows how much work on and off the pitch the coaching staff put in. We deserve it and our identity is starting to form.”

The long wait finally paid off for the teenager as she made her return to the pitch as a substitute against Celtic midway through November. She went on to make her long-awaited first start for 12 months against Hamilton at the start of December as the side won 5-0. Now fit again, she aims to secure a permanent spot in the starting 11, and has hopes of being called into the Scottish national team within the next couple of years.

“It was quite a quick turnaround, I had only been in training for three weeks,” she explained. “Then I got a couple of minutes against Celtic and Hibs which I was really pleased about. I didn’t have any expectations going into any game really, I was just happy to be back training and being with the team.

Monica Forsyth is hoping to catch the eye of Scotland manager Pedro Martinez Losa

"Within that week we had a lot of injuries. All the hard work I had put into training over the last three weeks had almost closed the gap between the players. Then Eva [Olid, the manager] gave me the chance to just go out and enjoy it. The Hamilton game made me realise how much I did enjoy playing football, especially because we were playing so well, passing the ball about, attacking, it was really good. It made it real that I was really back. Now I just want to get back into the starting 11 and show I am one of those players who will always work hard. Then help the club on the pitch with an assist or a goal.

"Outside the club, Rebecca McAlister getting a call up to the national team was a big deal to most of us at Hearts, just to show they are not just looking at your Celtics and Rangers, but they are looking at other teams and watching these games. That is a personal goal for me in the next couple of years, to get a call up to the Scotland squad, which would be a great achievement and a real motivator.”