Erin Cuthbert Marks Successful Return From Injury With Scotland Victory Over Czech Republic

Chelsea captain Erin Cuthbert radiated relief and elation after featuring in her first match of the season, contributing to Scotland’s emphatic 2-0 victory against the Czech Republic.

Securing a win in the away leg of the Women’s World Cup round-one play-off has placed Scotland in a commanding position ahead of the return fixture in Paisley on Tuesday. The victor is expected to face Sweden.

The 28-year-old had yet to appear for her club this campaign due to a knee injury, but she entered the match in Pardubice as a substitute. Fellow substitute Claire Emslie sealed the win with a superb second goal, building on a stunning opening strike from captain Caroline Weir.

“It’s so good,” Cuthbert told BBC Scotland.

“It’s been such a long summer. It’s always great to come on and play for my country again – I’ll never take it for granted when I get a serious injury.

“I’m just glad to get back on a football pitch. The relief, the amount of self-doubt that you have, the amount of stress – am I going to be back to the same level, how am I going to perform, is my knee going to be alright? All those things run through your head.

“It was a bad one. I was in crutches and a brace for the best part of a month. I lost a fair amount of muscle and over the summer I was trying to rebuild all of that again.

“It’s been a really, really hard journey.”

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