Two ACL injuries later, Jorja Fox returns to action for Newcastle United | OneFootball

Jorja Fox at Chelsea (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Newcastle United’s Jorja Fox returned to competitive action last week – after more than two years out due to two cruelly unlucky knee injuries.

Fox – on loan to the Magpies from Chelsea – suffered consecutive anterior cruciate ligament injuries, with the first happening in 2023 on loan at Brighton and Hove Albion, and the second while on loan with Crystal Palace a year later.

“I couldn’t really believe it when it happened,” Fox said to the club’s official website. “It took me over a year to recover from my first injury, and I had worked so hard.

“I remember feeling confident in my physicality when I was with Palace and felt like I was ready to go – and I do still think I was fine at the time, and it was just a lot of bad luck.

“It was just like a numb feeling when it happened again, and I don’t think it actually ever sank in and still probably hasn’t to this day.

“I do feel like I was quite lucky the second time around, as I was surrounded by my family and was with the club that I’d been at since I was eight years old, so that was huge for me and my recovery.”

Jorja Fox: I can’t wait to get my flair back

She added that her attitude had changed through her rehabilitation, explaining: “I certainly have a different mindset to both football and life in general since I first got injured.

“Up until that point, when I got injured at Brighton, football was my life.

“I often let it control how happy I was outside of football, but now I’m able to put stuff in perspective a lot better, which I think is good both on and off the pitch.

“My whole life, football has been what I’m good at, and it’s been a way to show who I am and what I can do, and ultimately, I missed that feeling and can’t wait to get a bit of my flair back.”

And she hopes she can help Newcastle shine during the rest of the season.

“I’m really excited for the rest of the season and to see what we can achieve together, and hopefully I’ll continue to get more minutes and games moving forward,” she said.

“My main goal now, though, is to be enjoying my football and life off the pitch and making sure that I stay healthy on the pitch and smiling whenever I’m out there.”