Taylor: Roord ‘completely nailed’ ACL recovery

Gareth Taylor says Jill Roord’s approach to her anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation is an example to any player going through the injury.

The Dutch international returned to action in our 1-0 WSL win over Brighton & Hove Albion, just eight months after she sustained the injury.

Our number 10 was initially expected to be available by the new year, but her attitude towards recovery and work with City’s medical team has led to a remarkably swift return.

And the boss heaped praise on Roord after our win over the Seagulls and the faith she’s shown in how the Club operates.

He said: “You have to give great credit Jill on that and the medical department for sure. I talk a lot about working in this environment and trusting in how we do things.

“When we bring new players to the club and you’re trying to get them aligned really quickly in how we do things, sometimes you get an example like Jill who’s amazing to use for other players.

“She came in and adapted so quickly to the way we play, smashed it for the first six months of the season.

“Then unfortunately she gets the injury, sat down with the medical team, has a procedure, and it was a case of ‘this is what your rehab looks like’.

“She asked questions, really got aligned quickly and when she knew that was the plan she smashed it every single day.

WATCH: Roord pays tribute to City medical staff after injury return

“I never heard a bad word heard from the medical team around her, she never had an off day. She completely nailed it and that's why she’s back now.

“You have to give her great credit for that. Her mentality is one of her biggest strengths, as well as being a top player.”

City were full value for the win against Brighton but were made to work for the three points.

The Seagulls have recruited impressively in the summer and, under new manager Dario Vidosic, look capable of competing at the top end of the WSL this season.

Taylor felt his side could have won the game by a more handsome scoreline, but was impressed with how the players saw out the result.

“I thought we were excellent without the ball,” he added.

“Brighton will cause a lot of teams a lot of problems this season, you can see that in their identity and what they’re trying to do in overloading the midfield.

“But the way we combatted that was great without the ball which created quite a few chances for us. Our expected goals was really high but we win the game 1-0.

“If we score the second goal, we had many opportunities to do that, I think we potentially see an even more improved scoreline.

“But obviously 1-0 is really good for us, a clean sheet and gives us that last 10, 15 minutes of the game where we needed to control things, be really diligent and manage the game through.”