Shortly after 4pm on Sunday afternoon Lauren Hemp made her entrance onto a football pitch for the first time in 170 days. By 4.10pm she had provided the assist for Jess Park to score Manchester City’s decider in a crucial 1-0 win over Leicester, as if she had never left.
Hemp’s injury return has been a long road. The 24-year-old had not played competitively since November 8 before last weekend, and is one of several key England players battling to regain full fitness in time for this summer’s Euros defence.
Her absence has been keenly felt at club level. Man City topped the Women’s Super League table at the point Hemp sustained her knee injury five-and-a-half months ago. The picture has changed dramatically since.
An injury list bordering on crisis fed into a poor run of form, which led to manager Gareth Taylor’s sacking after four years in charge. City have dropped to fourth in table, 15 points behind recently crowned WSL champions Chelsea and four adrift of rivals Man Utd with two games remaining. They are 13 points worse off than at the same stage last term.
Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Leicester City and Manchester City.
Prime time for a rescue mission, then? “It’s the perfect time for a return, the sun is shining,” Hemp says smiling, sitting on the sofas in one of Man City’s plush player lounges, sunbeams spilling through the open windows. “I’ve missed the cold winter months.”
Cold is a fairly apt way to describe a campaign that begun with so much promise for City. The highs at the start of season, like beating the imperious Barcelona, now finalists, in the Champions League group stages, have been reduced to a mere footnote.
Ambitions aren’t quite as grand as back then but no less important. This Sunday, City will contest a straight shoot-out with the red half of Manchester to see who gets the privilege of European football next year, in what will likely be a winner-takes-all contest, live on Sky Sports.
Lauren Hemp’s impressive offensive stats, despite missing five months of the season with a knee injury
“You go through every emotion with the team, whether you’re playing or not. We’ve seen this season, things haven’t been pretty at times,” Hemp said. “We’ve been knocked out of games where maybe we shouldn’t have been. It’s hard, but the beauty of this team is its togetherness.”
“Injuries have been a massive part of our season, but the strength of this team is that it’s full of people who want to stand up in high pressure moments.”
This, the fourth Manchester derby of the season, could not be higher stakes. Man Utd have won two of the previous three meetings and a third on Sunday would mean Marc Skinner’s side will have got the better of City in successive games for the first time in their history.
Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Manchester City and Manchester United.
“We firmly believe there’s still stuff to play for this season,” Hemp adds defiantly, her tone changing to reflect the seriousness. “Technically, it’s still possible and while it is we’ll fight. The beauty is we can influence other teams around us. A lot is up for grabs.”
While Hemp has been on treatment table – alongside Alex Greenwood, Bunny Shaw, Vivianne Miedema, and others – City have been knocked out of the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League. Despite being restricted to only 11 appearances in all competitions, the forward has still chipped in with 10 goal contributions (two goals, eight assists).
City are unbeaten when Hemp plays, while her minutes-per-assist record (the best in WSL history) remains untouched despite missing two thirds of the season. Sunday would mark her 100th league start for City.
Lauren Hemp got the assist for Jess Park’s winner on her return from injury last week
“I feel in a really good place,” Hemp says, the scar on her knee from surgery a visible reminder of the past five-month slog. “The injury has been really challenging, mentally and physically. It’s the longest I’ve ever been out of the game. It’s hard when you love something so much and it gets taken away.”
According to Opta, City have a 21.2 per cent chance of leapfrogging United. Prospects are likely to increase exponentially with Hemp available, though. She brings the kind of relentless athleticism City have lacked all season. Couple that with genuine invention and the ability to score or create from anywhere and chances of a late resurgence improve no end.
City have had much of the fun sucked out of this season. Stylistically they have suffered without so many key players but results have been harder to come by too. Cue Hemp, City’s chief entertainer, to bring some much-needed joy back. “I’m fit and raring to go for Sunday,” she beams. “I’ve never appreciated being on the pitch so much.”
Watch Man United vs Man City live on Sky Sports+ and Showcase on Sunday from 11.30am; kick-off 12pm
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