Two years ago, Faye Gaskin was told her rugby league career was over. Now, the St Helens scrum-half is the talk of the town after kicking her team to a historic appearance at Wembley for the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup final.
It is a competition which has bittersweet memories for Gaskin. She was part of the Saints team which won it in 2021 en route to a Cup, Betfred Women's Super League Leaders' Shield and Grand Final treble, but suffered a fractured kneecap while celebrating a try in the 34-6 win over York Valkyrie in the final at Leigh Sports Village.
Having gone through an agonising two-year recovery with the support of the club, her team-mates and charity Rugby League Cares, though, Gaskin was able to step back onto the field for the 2023 season.
- St Helens edge York Valkyrie with dramatic last-minute drop goal
- Betfred Women's Super League Group 1 standings
- Stream the Betfred Super League and more sport on NOW
And, last Saturday, the England international landed the winning drop goal as St Helens edged York 17-16 in their semi-final clash to ensure their place in the first Women's Challenge Cup final to be played at Wembley on August 12.
"It's a bit overwhelming when I think of the progress I've made," Gaskin told Sky Sports News. "It was a long, dark two years, but the club stuck by me, and the girls were always like 'you'll get back on the pitch'.
"I remember the conversation with the surgeon going down for the operation and he was like 'you won't return to sport, this is big a career-ending injury and the level you played at with England and St Helens, you'll probably never get back to that'.
"Four months down the line I was still in a leg brace, I was told I couldn't go back to work because of health and safety, and I was still walking with a really big limp. It's something which still affects me to this day.
"When that ball went over the sticks, I looked back at the crowd cheering and thought 'what a crazy two years', but I'm so grateful to be at this club with this special group of players."
That semi-final at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium was part of a double-header with the men's last-four showdown, and both St Helens and York will face each other again in the Women's Super League this Friday ahead of Saints' men tackling Leeds Rhinos, with both matches live on Sky Sports.
The Valkyrie have been the team to beat in the BWSL so far this season, winning five of their six matches and drawing one to sit top of the Group 1 table with four matches of the regular season remaining.
Saints are just three points behind them though and York head coach Lindsay Anfield is urging last year's Grand Final runners-up to learn the lessons from the semi-final defeat which she felt proved so costly on the day.
"It's just the composure and the game management aspect of being able to deliver what is said in the changing room and done at training," Anfield said.
"You can't blame it on fatigue - even 10 minutes into the game we were going away from the key messages we've been giving them.
"Luckily we've defended so well in the first half that we went in with a lead, but you can't get away with not completing and all of those penalties."
Gaskin does not expect this week's encounter at Totally Wicked Stadium to be any different to the intense, close-fought Cup tie from the weekend, even though St Helens were beaten 26-6 by York in the opening league match of the year back in April.
That is the only loss the 2021 champions have suffered in the BWSL so far this year though and the 31-year-old believes Saints have shown themselves capable of matching the Valkyrie as they pursue a clean sweep of the silverware available in the women's game.
"This time the League Leaders' Shield is up for grabs, and it will be such a battle, and York will probably name the same strong squad we faced this week," Gaskin said.
"It was one of those games where both teams could have taken the semi-final, and they want the League Leaders.
"They want to stay as that team who are unbeaten [in the Women's Super League] and we want the treble. I'm sure Friday will be so good."
Watch St Helens against York Valkyrie (5.30pm) in the Betfred Women's Super League followed by St Helens taking on Leeds Rhinos (8pm) in the men's Betfred Super League at Totally Wicked Stadium from 5pm on Friday. Also stream on NOW.