It was on the World Cup in 2023 that issues got here to a head. Lucy Bronze, England’s most capped participant on the match, had been coping with contact lens points all through her profession. When her lenses dried up in Australia, sufficient was sufficient.
“I ordered some extra however they had been the flawed ones as a result of they had been a unique model. Clearly, we had been in Australia, so it was laborious to get the identical issues as in England and there was one sport on the market the place my eyes had been so itchy and watery.
“At the end of the tournament, I just thought, I really do not need this. But I was apprehensive about laser-eye surgery and the risks of something going wrong. This procedure is reversible, which gave me peace of mind and felt less risky for me.
“It sounds loopy nevertheless it has made such an enormous distinction.”
Through the winter break, Bronze had a Collamer (collagen co-polymer) lens by EVO implanted between her iris and pure crystalline lens. No corneal tissue was eliminated, it’s biocompatible with the attention. She was out and in inside an hour. “I walked out the building and I could see.”
It appears extraordinary {that a} profession as spectacular as hers had been blighted by this challenge however hearken to her speak about her experiences – previously tense now, fortunately – and it’s exceptional that she endured it for thus lengthy. Even sure gentle was awkward.
“Reflections, issues like that. There was an instance years in the past once I was taking part in for Liverpool away at Bristol that grew to become a little bit of a folks story. After I had my surgical procedure, Gemma Bonner, the captain on the time, was like, ‘No extra contact lenses falling out in video games’.
“I lost a lens in a header when a girl accidentally brushed my eye. I was up and down the touchline, taking throws, telling the physios, ‘The spare is in my wash bag, under the bench, in the front pocket’. They finally got it but I played with one eye for 10 minutes.”
It got here to dominate her ideas. “I would be more devastated if I forgot my contact lenses than my football boots,” says Bronze. “It was that important. I could make do with another pair of boots but when you cannot see properly it is much more stressful.”
Supporters won’t have seen the change. Bronze was an elite participant earlier than. However from her perspective, the transformation has been vital. “What a difference it makes on the pitch in terms of seeing things faster when you look around,” she says.
“It was kind of surreal, going through all these motions that I have done my whole life, just how much clearer things were. My vision is actually even better than what it was previously. It is a shame I did not do it sooner. I should have done it in my twenties.”
Chelsea’s Johanna Rytting Kaneryd celebrates with Lucy Bronze
Bronze’s repute in these youthful days was constructed on her physicality, these highly effective runs from right-back turning into her trademark, the Ballon d’Or runner-up to Megan Rapinoe in 2019. “I relied on my physical attributes. It is still my strength,” she says.
“It is kind of a shift in football at the minute. Everyone used to think of physical attributes as the key to everything. But actually it is your brain, your vision, how you see the game quickly, see every angle, that is more important than physical output.
“There are gamers that may play longer. Thiago Silva is an efficient instance. He’s so sensible, he has the photographs in his head. He may need misplaced a yard of tempo however he can nonetheless learn the sport as a result of he sees every part clearly, scanning, checking, organising.
Thiago Silva is cited by Lucy Bronze for instance of a participant who stayed on the high
“I always appreciated that side of the game but never thought I could make it something I was really good at until towards the end of my career. I realised I needed to work on it because you are more likely to lose your physical attributes than your brain.”
The result’s that Bronze’s sport has advanced. It was a course of that started at Manchester Metropolis. “They wanted me more to come inside as a holder midfielder and help with the build-up.” It improved these scanning abilities. “In midfield, you have no choice,” she says.
“At full-back, you can kind of pick and choose. In midfield, you are involved. You have to be aware. The world’s best midfielders are not necessarily the fastest, biggest or even the best technically. They are the ones who can anticipate and see the game better.”
Lucy Bronze believes her sport advanced throughout her time taking part in for Barcelona
At Barcelona, there was much more selection. “I sometimes played in the back three and then 20 minutes later I was playing like a right winger. I used to be more of a straight-line player, up and down, run and run. As I became older, I wanted to be less predictable.”
Now 33, Bronze talks of her capacity to “read the game” and consists of amongst her obligations “trying to get the best out of others” – all a part of her evolution as a participant. Is the purpose of all this to extend the profession? “I mean, I think it already has.”
What is obvious is that the starvation stays and Bronze is keen to do all that she will to remain on the high. “I am pushing myself to improve in as many ways as possible. Where I am at with my game, I think recovery is now the biggest thing,” she explains.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
Lucy Bronze on security for girls in sport after Emma Raducanu was focused
Bronze describes herself as “overly obsessed” with ice baths, putting in them wherever she lives. “I was always quite obsessed with recovery and sports science. The last year or two, I have probably taken it even more seriously than ever before,” she provides.
“As I have got older, I just do not want any of these young players to overtake me. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo and how he has looked after his body to maintain his level. I know that I need to recover to make sure I am ready to go again the next day.
“Possibly I overtrained once I was youthful. You could possibly by no means cease me. That’s the solely purpose I picked up accidents previously. I ended up being out longer than I ought to have as a result of I’d not cease and wouldn’t hearken to my physique telling me to decelerate.
“For me now, it is about not being afraid to take a step back. People think you are weak because of it. That is always the perception. If you are not doing enough or you are not playing all the time, you cannot handle it. But it is so that you can handle it for longer.
“Once I picked up an harm not too long ago, I managed to cease myself. Fortunately, the harm solely turned out to be seven days, whereas if I had pushed myself, it might have been seven weeks. That’s most likely the most important change and all of it comes with expertise.”
Whether or not it’s restoration methods, tactical changes or implantable lenses, Lucy Bronze continues to be searching for that edge.
