Erin Inglis was a state hockey player for SA Under 16s when her knee kept dislocating. Three times. In November 2024, she had surgery to repair her patella tendon and move the bone to stop it happening again. Now she’s nine months into rehab, and she talks honestly about what that’s been like.

This conversation covers the physical side of losing 90% of your quad strength and watching your knee shake doing exercises that used to be easy. It gets into the mental battle of finding motivation when you’re on pain meds and everything hurts. And it touches on what helped Erin keep going: her family, her gym buddy, and messages from teammates saying they miss her.

Erin’s a goalkeeper, and her club needs her. She’s planning to play two teams next year and try out for state again if she gets the chance. But right now, she’s focused on getting through the rehab, one physio session at a time.

Key insights:

• Knee surgery rehab isn’t just about the ACL. There are different injuries that need different approaches, but the mental and physical struggles are similar.
• Losing strength is hard to see. When exercises you could do easily before surgery now make your knee shake, it messes with your head.
• Your support team matters. Family reminding you of the end goal, a gym buddy who shows up, and mates messaging you from training all make a difference.
• Recovery timelines are real. Six to twelve months for knee injuries means you need to stay patient, even when setbacks happen.
• Pain and motivation are connected. It’s harder to stay motivated when you’re in pain, but as healing happens, the mental side gets easier too.

If you’re recovering from knee surgery, or you’re supporting someone who is, this episode shows you’re not alone in finding it hard.