Mary Fowler exclusive: Man City's forgotten star is raring to go for defending WSL champions after time for reflection during ACL recovery

That reflection is a glimpse into how healthily Fowler processed her time on the sidelines, from a mental perspective. “I had, weirdly, an enjoyable time while I was out,” she admits.

That’s not to say the diagnosis wasn’t “devastating”, as she describes “the fear of the unknown” as something that made her “a bit anxious and a bit sad". Being 10,000 miles from her home in Australia didn’t help, either.

“I am someone that's quite independent and I like having my routine and my freedoms and stuff. Being injured kind of took that away because I needed to rely on people,” she explains. “Once I figured that out, I was like, 'Oh, I've actually never been someone where football is everything'. It's never been the only thing that I want to do, so I was able to quite quickly shift my perspective and see that I'd actually, weirdly, been gifted a lot of time to do other things and I feel like I really made the most of that time.”

Then came the comeback. Subbed on in the closing stages of City's 5-1 thrashing of Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium, a win that all-but-ended the WSL title race in early February, Fowler's recovery really stepped up at the Asian Cup the following month, where she started five games in 17 days as Australia made the final.

“It was a bit of an odd tournament for me because, from a performance standpoint, I was like, 'I want to do the best I can', but from a physical standpoint, I was like, 'I've only just come back’,” she says. “It was nice to reflect on that before I even started the tournament so that I didn't go in with my expectations so high.”

Fowler still provided key assists against China and South Korea, after scoring in the win over Iran, even if she admits: “I felt like, in moments, I was the player that I was before I got injured, but then in other moments I was like, 'Oh my gosh'. My head was telling me to do something but my legs weren't moving. Those were the moments where I was like, 'Okay, just have a bit of patience. It'll come back'.”

It’s what makes her all the more motivated for next summer’s World Cup, for which Australia, semi-finalists in 2023, have already qualified. “It did feel very rewarding after the Asian Cup to get to where we got to and, on an individual level, to do what I did. But at the same time, I was very hungry to get to the next thing because, inside, I just knew I could do so much more, but I just wasn't quite there yet.”

That’s what Fowler is excited to show in this upcoming season, too. Her strike against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals was a reminder of her game-changing qualities and a chance for her to make a meaningful contribution in a massive season for City, as they ended a 10-year wait for another WSL title and a six-year wait to lift the FA Cup again.

“For me personally, I want to feel like I've contributed in some way,” Fowler says. “I think you can, as a team-mate, contribute a lot off the field, but I think there's always that desire to be someone that's actually played a part on the field as well.”

And she did, as City exorcised the demons of title races past that fell short and won their first trophies since the 23-year-old’s arrival in 2022. “It was so special. Even not being on the field, it was nice to feel how special that was because I have been here for some years now and we have come close to winning trophies and we've just fallen short right at the end,” she says.

“I've said since the start, this group of girls is so special. It’s always felt like a group that deserves to win something, but we never quite got there. So it was just really rewarding to finally see the girls put in all that hard work throughout the season and then earn that trophy at the end.”

It’s different this season. After being the chasers for so long, City will now be the chased, as the reigning WSL champions and holders of the FA Cup. But this group doesn’t feel like one that has taken the foot off the gas, despite those achievements.

“I've seen it already in the players,” head coach Jeglertz told GOAL. “They already have a confidence that is great, that is calm, but curious about how we take the next step. What do we do to become a little bit better? I already see it and that's something that we need to keep for the whole year.”

Fowler agrees. “I feel like we're not really an ego-driven kind of team. I don't think we have arrogant players, but I do think we have players who expect high standards and that really works for us because I think that drives our performances week in, week out. I think that's one of the reasons we really gel. Everyone actually wants to have high levels of football and that's where we find joy in being out on the field.

"I think in previous seasons, maybe we fell short because there was a bit of a lack of a mindset where we felt we were really capable of winning. But I think now that we've done it, it feels like, 'You are very capable and you can do that again'.”

The additions of Beth Mead, a two-time European champion with England and a Champions League winner at Arsenal, and Niamh Charles, another member of the Lionesses’ Euros-winning team and of Chelsea’s dominant side, will help maintain that. “I think the club does really well to sign players that really fit in with our team environment,” Fowler notes.

But the return to full fitness of the Fowler is another major boost. She might have processed her 10 months on the sidelines with remarkable perspective, but she was still always excited to be back in action.

“I couldn’t wait to get back to kind of make that moment happen, as the end point of all the work that everyone had put in to get me back out there.” With the full circle experience behind her, a whole season of that game-changing quality now awaits.