Everton midfielder Aurora Galli has opened up about her long road to recovery from a serious knee injury, revealing that she dreamt about her ACL the night before she ruptured it. The Italy international suffered the injury in September 2024 during Everton's opening Women's Super League match against Brighton, collapsing in agony after her standing leg buckled while challenging for the ball.
The Dream That Came True
Sitting at Finch Farm, Everton's training ground, almost two years later, Galli recalls the vivid premonition. 'The night before, I couldn't sleep very well but I dreamt about my ACL,' she remembers. 'I discovered that my sister also had a feeling that something would happen. During the game, I was not thinking about it. But the feeling of the knee that went down, it was like I broke my leg completely.'
The 29-year-old describes the immediate aftermath: 'I remember screaming and the doctor was like: Do you want oxygen? I said: No. I'm going to walk out of the pitch alone. I don't want anything, because I'm very stubborn. I remember every single thing from that day. I don't know why.'
Mental and Physical Battle
The severity of the injury hit hard. 'The first day, I was not myself,' Galli says ruefully. 'I'm not a crying person but I was crying so much when everyone couldn't see me. Football was why I wake up in the morning. All the frustration that you have, I couldn't just put it away because I didn't have football. Then you feel your body and your head are not working. It's really hard.'
She adds: 'It's very mental. Every single step that you do on the pitch, it's like: Is there any problem? Or even if someone just goes down, I feel so worried. You don't want to think about it but it's just something that will never go away.'
Motivation for Euro 2025
Galli's drive to return was fueled by the prospect of representing Italy at the 2025 European Championship. 'I had a Euros to go to,' she states. 'I was like: In six months, I need to be back playing. I think it was actually like seven and a half. I pushed it. I had so many meetings with the physio and doctors to explain my point of view. If I have a goal, I will arrive there no matter what.'
Under medical guidance, she made her return on the final day of the 2024-25 season, a four-minute cameo against Tottenham. Although she was not named in Andrea Soncin's final squad for the Euros, she was with the group as they reached a historic semi-final. 'I was not in the team but I was part of it, so it was half of the goal,' she says. 'I'm very proud of them because they did amazing things. It was nice to be back after such a long time, to see my friends and just enjoy football again.'
Setback and Learning
However, Galli admits she pushed her recovery too hard. When she returned for pre-season, the cartilage in her knee swelled, forcing her to sit out until January. 'It was a balance I couldn't handle and the staff had to stop me,' she points to her knee with a smile. 'That is what I learned for the second time. It gave me more awareness of my body; how I feel it and how it answers me.'
Her return coincided with Everton's upturn in form after a difficult start. Under interim manager Scott Phelan, the team finished eighth, with Galli making five starts as she built up her minutes.
Everton as Family
For Galli, Everton has become a home away from home. She joined the club at 24, becoming the first Italian to play in the WSL. 'I know how to help people to just push them to be the best version of themselves,' she says. 'If that means being a leader, yeah. If it's not, I'm not. I'm just really focusing on what I'm doing because I love it.'
With a summer break ahead, including a holiday with partner Nathalie Björn of Chelsea, Galli's focus is on the World Cup. 'I would say that I still don't feel myself and I don't think that I will feel it again like before,' she admits. 'I think that an injury, especially the ACL, changes your body. It changes the way you are thinking so it's more about growing and accepting the change.'
