WHAT started as a regular trip to Reading Festival turned sour back in the summer of 2023 as fresh from graduating high school, Gemma Moss found herself facing the biggest challenge of her life.
In a rambunctious Reading mosh pit, the crowd fell like dominoes towards Gemma and she was unable to move in time, resulting in the crowd falling onto her, rupturing her ACL and breaking her leg.
“What felt like the whole of Reading falling on it afterwards, and it [leg] got crushed.”
What she then had to overcome was an intense period of physiotherapy and operations in an attempt to return to normality, something she has recognized may not happen as these types of injuries can be career defining for aspiring athletes.
“My knee may not ever be the same again.”
All of this only added to the stress of transitioning to university, a challenge in itself as there were many things Gemma found herself unable to do as she once again was restricted by her injury.
A year on from the incident, Gemma has almost completed her difficult path to recovery, and has even started her return to playing sports, joining the Solent University women’s basketball team in a player and coaching role.
Major drawbacks to an ACL injury is reinjury, which occurs in around 1 out of 5 that received ACL reconstruction surgery. Something Gemma is wary of as she looks to start off with a coaching and minor playing role, taking a slow and steady approach to getting back on court.
“This season I don’t think I will be playing full quarters or anything, so I just want to improve my coaching abilities because a lot of the girls have not done basketball, but I want to play as much as I can obviously but not push it too much until my knee is fully pain-free.”
Hear about Gemma’s story in the video below:
