Vivianne Miedema: Arsenal striker went through 'emotional rollercoaster' during injury absence
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Vivianne Miedema joined Arsenal from Bayern Munich in 2017
Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema says she endured an "emotional rollercoaster" during her 11-month absence with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Miedema, 27, required surgery after rupturing her ACL against Lyon in the Champions League in December 2022.
The Netherlands forward came off the bench as Arsenal beat Bristol City 2-1 in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
"I'm a proper footballer again," she said on social media after the match.
"The last 310 days have been an emotional and physical rollercoaster."
England forward Beth Mead, who sustained the same injury less than a month before Miedema, continued her return to action at Ashton Gate with a second successive substitute appearance.
Miedema has been one of Arsenal's key players since joining from Bayern Munich in 2017, scoring 78 goals in 84 WSL appearances.
She helped Arsenal to lift the league title in 2017-18 and also won the Uefa Women's European Championship with her country in 2017.
"You never really understand what rehab/coming back means until you go through it," Miedema said. "From the initial sadness and anger when getting injured, to the anxiety and being scared for surgery and your rehab.
"For me it was difficult to trust my body and feel confident again. But after multiple setbacks and comebacks, I finally started to feel excited and confident and I can enjoy being back out there again.
"Sometimes we do things on auto pilot, everything becomes normal and we won't appreciate the moments we should.
"The one thing I learned in this rehab is that I do need to enjoy milestones, special moments and even little steps a lot more. It's like I've never been away."
Arsenal are seventh in the WSL after a mixed start to the season. They picked up just one point from their opening two games but have won their past two matches.