Beth England hit an important milestone in her injury recovery two weeks ago.
For the first time since having hip surgery last month, the Tottenham and Lionesses striker was able to take her two dogs for a walk on her own.
It is an important part of her routine for England, whose love of dogs extends to the extent that she has spent part of her time out injured giving online puppy classes to new owners.
“My dogs are a huge part of my life and what helps me wind down, or get out of the slump of a stressful or bad day,” she tells Standard Sport.
“We all have bad days, it’s natural, but I think the minute you get through the door and the tail is wagging, they are kissing you, they want to hug you, it releases some of that tension and stress you’ve gone through.
“I am a very active person and I love going out and walking the dog. It clears your head a bit. It’s really good for the mind and soul.”
Having trained two puppies, England has a few horror stories to share during her Zoom classes.
They include one of her dogs chewing through the entire leg of a coffee table. The solution - in case you were wondering - is to give the puppy a frozen carrot as they are teething.
But it is England herself who almost had her own nightmare when she visited a surgeon shortly after helping the Lionesses reach the World Cup final in the summer.
“There was something niggling me, but I didn’t realise the extent,” she explains. “After scans from the World Cup, it showed that I had quite a severe tear in my labrum in my hip.
“So, I had hip surgery. It was quite a bit of mess, but they have fixed me up well. The surgery should have been an hour and a half, but it took over three hours due to the extent of the tear.
“Thankfully I did [have surgery], because if I had continued playing and fully torn it then that could have been my career done. I was very lucky that he (the surgeon) wasn’t telling me I had to retire that day.”
England has recovered well since her operation and is targeting a return to action around the end of November.
The 29-year-old is itching to get back playing after being named Tottenham captain this summer by the new Spurs head coach Robert Vilahamn.
"I was very lucky that the surgeon wasn’t telling me I had to retire that day"
“It was a huge shock to be honest because I have never seen myself as a captain - mainly because the teams I have been in there has always been so many leaders,” says England.
“For me, it was a very privileged moment when Robert asked me to be his captain. I took on the role, then found out I was injured. So that’s a new one for us both.
“We are doing everything we can so that I am still part of the team, but equally focusing on my rehab as well.
“I have been able to be in and around the team for most things. I am always attending team meetings, doing analysis. I am always around the changing room on game day, doing the team talk.”
Spurs have performed well without England, who scored 12 goals in as many games to keep them up last season after joining from Chelsea in January.
They are third in the Women’s Super League (WSL) after three wins in their first four matches.
Vilahamn has made an impressive start to life in north London and England believes he will echo the attacking philosophy of men’s boss Ange Postecoglou.
“With Ange and Robert, there is definitely a style that has been implemented within the teams,” she says. “You can see that the girls are playing some really quality football.
“We don’t want to be in that relegation battle again. I don’t think I have ever quite experienced anything like that.
“I think that is more nerve-wracking than fighting for a title, because it is almost like you have more to lose.”
Long-term, England believes Spurs can be turned into Champions League contenders but she is determined for the team to “walk before they run”.
The same goes for her and, when she is back fit, England is dreaming about playing for Team GB at the Paris Olympics next summer.
“I would love nothing more than to be part of the Olympics,” she says. “I have grown up watching athletics, I have always loved it, and that’s one of the ones I would like to tick off my bucket list.”
Beth England has partnered with Burns Pet Nutrition and Admiral Pet Insurance to host a series of puppy parenting classes designed to help new puppy parents stay on the ball with all the things they need to remember. You can sign up for the classes on the Admiral website or Facebook page at https://www.admiral.com/magazine/puppy-parenting and the Burns website or Facebook page.
