By the time Simone Charley stepped onto the Inter&Co Stadium grass on Sunday, it had been 854 days since she last played professional soccer, a number that Simone herself had been counting leading up to her return.
Over two years filled with setbacks, comebacks, more setbacks and recovery. So when the fourth official’s board went up, and her number lit across the screen in the Pride's match last night against the Utah Royals, the forward couldn't stop smiling as she took her first steps onto the Inter&Co Stadium pitch.
“It feels surreal," she said postgame. "I feel like it’s a dream. Someone pinch me.”
After suffering not one, but two Achilles tears in back-to-back years, first with Angel City in 2023 and then in preseason with the Pride last year, the emotions of those setbacks were, obviously, very intense.
“I cried my way through these two years,” Charley admitted. "But it means the world to me to be able to celebrate with the people who helped to get you there, because this journey has been, easily, one of the hardest things that I've been through, and I wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for the people out there on the field.”
Those teammates, staff, friends and family were all there to support her through the road to recovery, constantly cheering her on and hyping up every little victory she had.
“I just think back to how many people worked so hard to get me there," shes said. "I think of Cory [Price], I think of Erin [Angelini], I think of Kelly [Turney], who’s the one who carted me off the field as I’m sobbing that I tore my second Achilles. There are so many people like Kelly, I feel like those are all the people who come to mind. As I stand there, just standing on their shoulders, and then I run out on the field and I’m like, ‘It’s happening, guys, it’s happening.’”
Leading into the match, the nerves were naturally very high, so getting advice from someone who had been in her shoes, NBA Hall of Famer and Pride minority owner Grant Hill, was exactly what she needed. Hill, who famously overcame multiple ankle surgeries during his 19-year basketball career, told her two simple words: have fun.
“He told me just to have fun. No judgment, and just relax and be yourself,” she recalled. “I feel like I was just like, I’m gonna have fun today, and I feel that’s what I tried to do.”
Even with limited minutes, Charley didn’t waste time making an impact, nearly getting on the scoresheet just seconds after subbing in. Although it was only 12 minutes (plus stoppage time) of action, it was still a massive moment in the comeback journey for Charley.
“It kind of feels like riding a bike,” she said. “In this two-year journey, I’ve honestly rekindled my love of the game. I think when you’re a professional, there’s a lot of pressure, and I think you can lose sight of why you play. But I’ve been having so much fun, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun. I feel like, when I got the ball and I'm dribbling and cutting and doing all these things, I'm just having fun. This is why I started playing when I was five, because it was so fun, and I feel like that again, and it's just the biggest blessing."
