On a long journey back from an ACL injury, the 25-year-old revealed that her recovery is ‘going well’ and expressed her gratitude to her team-mates and coaching staff for their part in her rehabilitation so far.
A regular member of Martin Ho’s starting XI in the first half of the campaign, our number seven sustained the ACL injury during the second half of our Barclays Women’s Super League clash against Aston Villa in December, 2025.
Subsequently undergoing surgery in the same month, Jess has shown plenty of resilience in her rehabilitation so far and earlier this week, she returned to the grass for the first time in her recovery.
Powering through every step of her rehabilitation programme to date, Jess praised the impact of everyone around her at Hotspur Way in getting her through it – from team-mates to the coaching staff.
“Things are going well,” she told us, attending a community event at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week. “It's been a long road but I've been working hard in the gym and taking steps so hopefully be back soon.
“Having to have surgery in the first couple of weeks is tough, being in pain and there's the little things, like learning to walk again, then to contract the quads and being in the gym.
“You lose a lot of muscle really quick, so being in the gym, trying to get strong and then just learning habits of being back, playing football, getting a ball on your feet and stuff. Those are the stages I've been through and it's hard, but I'll be back soon.
When asked about the support of Martin and her team-mates, she added: “When I first did it, Martin came straight down after the game and spoke to me, so it was really emotional at the time. The girls, everyone's been great, big support and have been helping me every time I'm in the gym, cheering me on.
“Then the staff, physios, I've put all my trust in them, so I know they're getting me in a great place and I'm just excited that we have the staff, the facilities and everything for me to get back.”
This is something that Jess has already faced in her career.
Jess suffered an ACL injury ahead of the 2019/20 campaign, when she was 18 years old, which was our first-ever campaign in England’s top flight and she spoke about the learnings from her first experience that she prepared in her recovery this time.
“The main thing is just the mindset. Doing it at such a young age, you don't really know how it's going to go and stuff but I'm learning that I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was,” she explained.
“So going into this one, I've just got my head down and try to get everything done to get me back to the pitch.”
Watch | Jess Naz on her recovery so far