Footballers are a vulnerable group when it comes to cruciate ligament injuries – not least on the women's side. Several international stars were missing from this summer's World Cup and since then the Swedish national team has got two more players, Fridolina Rolfö and Rebecka Blomqvist, on the injury list with just torn cruciate ligaments.

Häcken's Stine Larsen, 27, suffered the second cruciate ligament injury of her career during a match against Vittsjö in April – five years after the first.

"I ran towards the ball and my leg got stuck in the grass. The opponent came in from the side and then... My knee folded inwards. I knew right away that this is not right. I knew right away that it was the cruciate ligament.

"Has been obvious"

Now she is rehabilitating the injury, partly in Gothenburg but also at home in Denmark.

"Before I got injured, I thought I would never go through the kind of rehab that a cruciate ligament injury entails, ever again. But then I got injured and not once have I thought that I should not do the rehabilitation. It has been obvious that I will get through it.

The experience from the previous cruciate ligament injury has been valuable. Stine Larsen knows she can recover from a tough injury.

And in the middle of it all, she and her partner Emil received a happy message: They are expecting a baby.

"It wasn't planned before the injury, but then it was planned. We have known that we want children but did not know if it would be possible now that I play football, says the striker.

"We felt it was obvious to try it because I know I'm not done with football yet. It felt like a perfect way to extend my career. Now you can do two things at the same time.

FEATURE: Meet the doctors who patch up the sports stars on SVT Play

How did you get through the injury period?

  • Hanna Olsson: "It is important to also disconnect from the rehab"

    47 sec

  • Anton Persson: "Tried to find ways to exercise"

    38 sec

  • Olle Ek: "Understanding how the knee works has helped me"

    52 sec

  • Rebecka Lazic: "Following the team brought a lot of joy"

    35 sec