{"id":365851,"date":"2024-02-07T00:05:21","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T01:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=365851"},"modified":"2024-02-07T03:03:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T03:03:29","slug":"not-be-a-robot-why-matildas-star-suddenly-retired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=365851","title":{"rendered":"'Not be a robot': Why Matildas star suddenly retired"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffichelle Heyman says a stigma around mental health forced her to retire from Matildas<\/a> duties in 2019.<\/p>\n

The now-35-year-old is back in the international fold after earning a shock call-up from Australian coach Tony Gustavsson for the team's Olympic qualifiers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Heyman's Matildas recall comes as a result of a serious knee injury to Sam Kerr<\/a> which, ironically, is the same way she earned a national debut in 2010.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Matildas veteran replaces Kerr five years after retiring<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> Secret 'threat' behind NRL's $600m call revealed\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

EXCLUSIVE:<\/strong> Chappell whacks 'rubbish' spirit of cricket debate<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeffHeyman played 61 games in the Aussie strip over eight years before stunning the game in May 2019 by announcing her retirement from international football.<\/p>\n

Speaking to media on Wednesday, she revealed she felt she had no other option at the time.<\/p>\n

\"Michelle<\/p>\n

"The year I retired I really needed a break," Heyman said.<\/p>\n

"Back then, in 2019, you couldn't really use the word mental health. You just had to retire and step away.<\/p>\n

"I would have loved to be like, 'I need a year off to reboot and look after myself'.<\/p>\n

"Since 2020 I've been fighting to be back in this squad, and to be given the opportunity means the world to me.<\/p>\n

"I needed that break, I needed time to be a human, not be a robot.<\/p>\n

"Being in the national camp back then was a lot for your body, and doing that 10 years straight, I definitely needed a rest.<\/p>\n

"It's weird… but I feel fitter, I feel healthier, happier and stronger than I was back then. Within that six years I've grown so much.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Since Heyman's shock "retirement" Australia has seen national team captains Meg Lanning (women's cricket) and Michael Hooper (men's rugby) take indefinite mental health sabbaticals.<\/p>\n

\"Michelle<\/p>\n

\ufeffFor the footballer from Shellharbour, the much-needed break injected new life into her career domestically.<\/p>\n

Heyman lays claim to being the A-League Women's highest ever goalscorer and recently netted her 100th. She has 10 this season alone for Canberra United.<\/p>\n

"I score goals for fun, and I'm excited to be able to show that to Tony, show that in camp then hopefully get the chance to pull the jersey on again and show Australia I can do this," she said of a potential Olympics return.<\/p>\n

Heyman couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she spoke of her recall.<\/p>\n

"I feel like I'm 21 again. It's a great feeling, it's been six years since I've put on the green and gold and represented my country," she said.<\/p>\n

"For myself to get this call up… it's changed my life. I can't wait to be back with the team to help, give a little bit of me to show I've still got this.<\/p>\n

"I've been working so hard in the off-season and during this season to get my spot back in the squad, and I can't wait to take the opportunity with both hands and run with it.\ufeff"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffichelle Heyman says a stigma around mental health forced her to retire from Matildas duties in 2019. The now-35-year-old is back in the international fold […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":365853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365851"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=365851"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365856,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365851\/revisions\/365856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/365853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=365851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=365851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=365851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}