Hannah Cain has re-signed for Everton Women, returning to the club where her professional career began after six years away at Leicester City. The 26-year-old Wales international's comeback follows a gruelling period of rehabilitation from multiple major injuries, including two ACL tears.

Cain initially signed her first professional contract with Everton around eight or nine years ago before moving to Leicester. Her six-year spell there was marred by three major surgeries, starting with a foot injury shortly after her arrival and followed by two separate ACL injuries. The forward explained that the length of each recovery made the setbacks particularly difficult to endure.

Injury battle and rehabilitation

Cain revealed she considered retiring from football several times during her injury battles. "I’ve wanted to retire quite a few times in those moments," Cain said. "After the first one, it was mentally tough to go through such a long injury. I was still quite young." She credits the support around her for getting her through the toughest days and is now focused on moving forward. "Hopefully I’m done now and that’s me done with the injuries and that I can get a good few years now out of my career where I’m really thriving," she added.

International success and future ambitions

Despite her club struggles, Cain achieved historic success with Wales. She scored a key penalty to help qualify for Euro 2025 and then netted against England at the tournament itself, becoming one of the first Wales Women players to score at a European Championship. With Wales now targeting World Cup qualification, Cain is looking ahead. "The next one’s obviously going to be be the World Cup," she said. "I’m looking forward to that too." Wales face Norway in a qualifier this December.

Current context and what next

Cain's return provides a boost to an Everton Women side currently seventh in the FA WSL with nine points from seven games. Their recent form has been mixed, with a 2-3 home defeat to Aston Villa last weekend preceding a 2-0 win over Newcastle United. The team's fixtures list shows a challenging next assignment at home to fourth-placed Manchester United on October 31. Cain, who can play centrally or out wide, feels ready to contribute. She says the facilities at Everton are as good as she remembers and she is proud of her journey back to performing at the highest level. Her integration into the attacking setup could be key as Everton look to climb the standings.

Read the full report at wslfootball.com