What should have been a momentous occasion, a Matildas identification camp call-up, turned into an "incredibly tough" 12-month journey for Nickoletta Flannery.
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It would be 358 days until she returned to the football pitch from a torn ACL.
But it made her "twice the person" she was before, and now she is back in Canberra United's green and not taking anything for granted.
"It was incredibly tough," Flannery said on the last 12 months.
"With the lockdown and everything it just added a whole other level. I was away from my family, which was really difficult.
"I'm building each game with confidence. It is scary to step on the field again but I did all the work to get back.
"So I'm really not taking it for granted being back out there."
The 23-year-old will return for United in the next instalment of the A-League Women's competition, after she signed on for two seasons this week.
She returns to her home club following a year-long rehab process in the wake of a torn ACL she picked up at a national camp in May 2021.
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Flannery missed last season's ALW due to her knee injury, and will make her return under United's new coach Njegosh Popovich.
She admitted her return to the competition was quite daunting.
"I'm not sure really what to expect. It's kind of difficult having a year off and not really knowing what to expect," she said.
"There's a lot of change every year in this league at the moment, so I I'm just going to take it how it comes, but I'm very glad that the game keeps growing, and I'm glad that I can be a part of it this year."
Part of the change in the ALW in the last 12-months has been a number of Australian players opting for European leagues instead.
Flannery was on track to join them, after she had one of her best seasons for United in 2020-21, before her injury put a pin in that.
The young Canberra striker said everyone's journey was different, and this was what hers looked like.
"I'm very excited for a lot of my previous teammates, for everything that they're achieving overseas and Matildas call-ups," she said.
"Hopefully, if I keep working hard, that time will come for me as well. So fingers crossed."
The APIA Leichhardt player was known for her explosive pace when she burst onto the scene as a teenager.
Although she is not "as quick" as she was pre-injury just yet, it remains something she has been working towards.
United's support staffer Ash Sykes acknowledged Flannery's speed but sang praise on other elements of her game.
And said she was a great first signing for the club ahead of the 2022-23 season.
"When she first came onto the scene [her speed] was her main attribute, but she's added a lot of skill and technical understanding," Sykes said.
"She brings a lot to the team in that sort of wide position, and it would have been great to have had a chance to play with her again last year."
Sykes will not get the chance to play with Flannery next season, having called time on her professional playing career for a second time.
The former United player, however, knows all too well how hard it is to return to the top flight following time away, and will look to impart that knowledge to Flannery in her new role.
"Nicki has probably worked harder this year than I did in all my years off, but it's a big journey coming back," Sykes said.
"So I just want to be there to make sure she knows it's going to take time for things to come."
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