Everton captain Megan Finnigan took another significant step in her return from a serious knee injury when she came off the bench in Sunday’s 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat at Liverpool.
It was Finnigan’s first WSL appearance of her comeback and came just four days after she returned to competitive action in the cup victory over Birmingham City, ending a 602-day absence caused by an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Everton themselves described Wednesday’s appearance as her first for the club in 602 days.
The result at Anfield was disappointing, ending Everton‘s run of three successive wins and their six-match unbeaten record at the ground, but for Finnigan there was another important personal milestone in a comeback almost two years in the making.
Finnigan describes Everton return as a ‘rollercoaster’
Speaking in an interview carried by the Liverpool Echo, Finnigan explained that returning to fitness hasn’t automatically brought an end to the challenges created by such a lengthy absence.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, and I think a lot of people presume that when you are back the journey’s over but, if anything, I think you’ve got another bit to go because it’s all about finding yourself again, finding your form, trusting yourself.”
Wednesday’s appearance against Birmingham provided an important reminder that she was ready to compete again.
“Wednesday night, for me, was great because it gave me confidence that I am ready. I feel ready. I just need opportunities to be able to show that – and consistency.”
Finnigan added that she was simply pleased to be “back among the squad and trying to compete for a place” after such a long rehabilitation.
Everton captain gives honest derby assessment
There was little attempt to disguise her disappointment at what happened at Anfield.
Liverpool struck through Beata Olsson early on before Cornelia Kapocs completed the scoring late in the second half, ending the run highlighted in our derby preview.
“In fairness to them, they deserved to win. We were, in my opinion, second best to everything.”
Finnigan felt Everton had shown Liverpool too much respect and were caught between pressing their opponents and sitting deeper.
“We weren’t really going, but we weren’t really sitting, so it just allowed them to play through us at times and we made them look really good.”
The captain felt indecision rather than a lack of effort had hurt Everton, arguing that they needed to commit to their actions with greater conviction.
The defeat, covered in our full match report, shouldn’t obscure the significance of Finnigan’s week.
After 602 days without playing for Everton, she has now made two appearances in the space of four days. The next challenge, as Finnigan acknowledged herself, is rediscovering the consistency, confidence and trust in her body that can only come with more football.
Our Everton Women player ratings cover the individual performances from Sunday’s derby.
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