Emotional rollercoaster taking Lucy Parker back to Wembley

From the incredible high of receiving a first senior call-up to suffering a serious injury which meant she could only watch on as others lived out her dream, Lucy Parker’s last trip to Wembley Stadium with the Lionesses was heart-breaking.

The defender’s form in the early part of this season earned the West Ham United star a first call-up for England Women on September 27.

But just five days later, in her final match for the Hammers before joining up with England, Parker suffered a crushing injury.

Parker held on to some slim hope when she arrived to see the England doctors but within a matter of hours, scans confirmed the muscle had come away from the tendon and she was set for almost four months on the sidelines.

The 24-year-old said: “Processing it was one of the hardest things I had to go through. Because it happened so quickly, with me being called up on Tuesday and the injury happening on Sunday, that emotional rollercoaster of thinking you were going to your first senior England camp and then turning up just to go home was really hard to deal with.”

A few days later, England Women played the reigning world champions, the USA, in front of a packed-out Wembley Stadium.

There were 76,891 fans in attendance that night as the Lionesses beat the USA 2-1. One of those was Parker.

“Going to the USA game was hard. Looking back I’m not sure it was the best thing I could have done in that situation,” she admitted. 

“Having to watch as a fan – it was still incredible to see the support there – but knowing I could have been down on the pitch was heart-breaking.”

Parker started her footballing journey at a half-term camp at the age of six before joining Cambridge City girls’ team and then Chesterton Eagles boys’ side

A move to Arsenal came shortly before her 10th birthday and was followed by two years at Louisiana State University and then UCLA, where she secured a psychology degree and played alongside Chelsea star Jessie Fleming and USA’s Ashley Sanchez, with England duo Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy also there at the same time in a different age group.

A physical front-foot defender, Parker can play anywhere along the backline and is also comfortable stepping into midfield.

Most at home at centre-back and full-back, England head coach Sarina Wiegman has spoken of wanting to look at her aggressiveness, agility and speed up close, as the head coach assesses her options ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

Parker said: “In the back of your mind you have those worries that the call-up might not happen again but I knew if I did my rehab properly and worked hard then there was no reason that I wouldn’t have another chance.

“I am very much like that. If I want to do something, then I will make sure it happens. 

“Every day I was putting 110 per cent effort into everything I was doing with the goal of getting back here [with England].”

And that is exactly what happened last week when she was called up by Wiegman for the second time.

Considering the heart-breaking way her first call-up ended, it is fitting that England’s first match should come at Wembley Stadium once again, this time versus Brazil in the first-ever Women’s Finalissima, before a second match with Australia at Brentford on Tuesday.

Parker added: “Knowing that the game against the USA was going to be at Wembley added to the emotion of having to pull out of that camp.

“Playing in front of a sold-out Wembley, at the home of football, has been a childhood dream so getting the opportunity to potentially play there again is great.”