England defender Millie Bright considered calling an end to her football career after missing most of Chelsea manager Emma Hayes' final season due to injury.
Bright, 30, has been recovering from a lengthy knee injury which has forced her to the touchlines for most of the term.
A stalwart of the Blues' defence for the last decade since signing in 2014, Bright has been an instrumental figure both on and off the pitch as Chelsea established themselves as a domestic juggernaut. Her absence from the backline this season has been notable as the Blues' quadruple hopes crumbled around them in the space of a few weeks, losing the Conti Cup final to Arsenal and going out of the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Champions League to Manchester United and Barcelona respectively.
The toll of injury this season on Bright has been severe, with the Lioness admitting that watching her team struggle from the vantage of the sideline even led her to wonder if she should call an end to her career.
"I don't want to accept that I've been injured and I've missed most of the last season under Emma," Bright told BBC Sport. "That's been really hard to take. I've not been able to contribute to the team when I can see they have been struggling.
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"This season more than ever has been extremely difficult. I’ve had plenty of moments where I'm like: 'Eurgh, shall I just call the season and have a break and not try any more?' I've even thought: 'Is that my career done? Shall I just call it a day?' I've not really told anyone that to be honest. It's tough."
Emma Hayes applauds Chelsea fans after her side's 1-0 win over Barcelona (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)Despite her absence from Hayes' backline for most of this term, Bright emphasised the presence that Hayes has been in her life as she bid to return to full fitness.
"I let my walls down, but only with people like Levi [her fiance], my family or Emma Hayes. She knows when I feel like I'm about to explode," Bright added. "She's like, 'It's written on your face, I can see it. Tell me what's wrong.' It annoys me that she knows even when I've not said anything! But it's been massive."
Chelsea are two games away from potentially lifting a record fifth league title on the bounce and a seventh of Hayes' 12-year tenure in west London. After smashing Bristol City 8-0 to put Chelsea ahead of City on goal difference, victory over Tottenham Hotspur and newly-crowned FA Cup champions Manchester United would be enough to send Hayes to the USA with at least one trophy from her final season.
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