‘Every person in the changing room means more to me than my right knee’, says injured Crystal Palace ace Elise Hughes

ELISE HUGHES insists making football history with Crystal Palace means more to her than her season being ended by a serious knee injury. 

The hotshot forward hopes the Eagles’ promotion to the Women’s Super League has put a smile on faces of club staff and fans.

GettyElise Hughes was sidelined for Palace’s final game of the season after sustaining a knee ligament injury during the Eagles’ 2-0 win against Lewes on April 21[/caption]

PAHughes and Annabel Blanchard have shone for the Eagles in attack this season.[/caption]

GettyPalace will compete in the Women’s Super League for the first time in their history next season[/caption]

PACrystal Palace Prem player Marc Guehi was in the stands watching the Eagles’ women’s in action against Sunderland[/caption]

The South London side claimed their spot in the top tier ahead of next season following a 0-0 draw with Sunderland on Sunday.

Hughes, who finished this as the Women’s Championship’s top scorer, has been among the shining lights for the promotion winners.

The Wales ace netted 16 goals in 21 appearances this term before suffering a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury during Palace’s 2-0 defeat of Lewes last Sunday.

Hughes, 23, said: “If you wrote my story at the start of the year and said to me this is how your season is going to end, as upsetting it was for me personally,  I would have taken it.

“That’s because every person in the changing room means more to me than my right knee at the minute.

“The amount of people that are happy because of this trophy means more to me than what I’m about to go through (with my knee rehab). 

“And the reason I’m about to go through it with such a brave face is because of the amount of people I’ve got behind me right now.

“I couldn’t have done (what I’ve done) this year without them.”

Palace men’s centre-back Marc Guehi was among the spectators watching from the terraces as Laura Kaminski’s side made the leap to the top-flight.

The team won 14 and drew four of their 22 Championship duels following a season that saw them battle for supremacy with Sunderland, Charlton, Southampton and Birmingham.

And Hughes, who began her senior playing career with Everton in 2017, hopes Palace’s promotion will lead to more girls taking up football across south London.

The Eagles number nine adds: “Sometimes you have a ‘why’ of something so in-house of winning a league, and you realise how big your ‘why’ is away from the football pitch.

“We know that we can inspire the next generation.”

“I see fans every day with a huge nine on their back or I see girls chanting the different players’ names and you think ‘wow, okay, we are making a difference’. 

 “If the girls get opportunities that we never got growing up, then we’re all winners.”

Since making her Crystal Palace switch from Charlton two years ago, Hughes, who hails from Flintshire in Wales, admits to feeling very settled in south London.  

And she puts this down to the bonds built with her Eagles team-mates and club staff.  

Hughes said: “I’m from a small village in north Wales and I’ve come to South London and I’ve felt at home and it’s mainly down to the club. 

“It’s down to every staff member that walks into the building. No one goes past anyone without saying ‘hi’ and there’s always a smile and there’s always a reason to smile in that building.

“I hope we’ve bought an even bigger reason to smile.”

It was only in 2018 ago that Palace Women were a semi-professional outfit partly subsidised by former Palace men’s star striker Wilfried Zaha. 

At the time The Guardian reported players were being asked to each provide £250 towards their sponsorship. 

For Palace Women’s gaffer Laura Kaminski the Eagles’ promotion is the start of what she  called a fantastic new journey for the team who are full-time 

It comes nine months after the former Charlton Women’s assistant, who has 15 years coaching experience, was appointed as Eagle’s head coach. 

Kaminski said: “This trophy is for South London. The top-flight of women’s football is where this team deserves to be. 

“For those who have watched us across this season, they have always been full of confidence about our playing style.

“I think we play exciting football that people want to watch

“This club is at the start of a fantastic journey.

“This is the step we needed to take. We want to give ourselves the best opportunity in the WSL.

“I feel like we’ve worked hard to get all the infrastructure in around the team. 

“I’ve been a coach for many, many years across the women’s game at several clubs and I decided I wanted to have my own identity and philosophy and really take a project. 

PALaura Kaminski says Crystal Palace is the perfect fit for her as a coach[/caption]

“For me what is special about Crystal Palace was the place that Palace was in, really fitted me as a person. 

“For both myself and Grace Williams (our head of women’s football) when we met and discussed how this might look, it was a match made in heaven.

“Now we’ve seen the results of that.”