Following a summer where she guided the Lionesses to a World Cup final, Bright returned to Chelsea and was named our new club captain, succeeding Magdalena Eriksson.

It was a role she embraced, but the 30-year-old soon had to be a different kind of captain than she hoped as the defender endured a lengthy five-month spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury.

The England international returned to the starting XI for our four final league games - having made her comeback from the bench in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona - and she signed off a challenging season lifting the Women’s Super League trophy as we clinched our fifth consecutive title.

She may not have been able to be the leader she wanted to on the pitch, but Bright certainly did not shy away from the responsibilities away from the field - although that did take its toll.

‘It was hard and I think because of the way I am – I have a really good poker face and saying I am alright when it has been stressful,’ explained our captain.

‘But, for me, team trumps everything. I’ve probably sacrificed a lot of myself this season for the greater good of the team and that is not always seen.

‘I have had my closest girls checking in on me, and the likes of Emma [Hayes] and Denise [Reddy] especially checking in.

‘I just wanted to be there for the girls and to support them and while I wanted to get back playing – because that was my absolute priority – if I could have contributed even five per cent for the girls while I was injured then I feel like I have helped along the way.’

The demands of being captain and balancing a gruelling rehabilitation was not an easy task for Bright. She also had to deal with the feelings which came with missing the final campaign of her mentor Hayes.

‘Every individual is different, but for me, I take a lot of pride in contributing in some way or another,’ she added.

‘I couldn’t 100 per cent focus on my injury and just leave the girls to it. I was there pretty much every game and the games that I didn’t go to were down to how much driving I could do and having to manage my knee - there was always a reason if I wasn’t there.

‘It was difficult to find the balance of wanting to give so much to the team and having to focus on my injury. I wanted to do everything I could to get back as quickly as possible.

‘I’d like to think the girls would have felt my support the whole season. It was definitely tough, but I had to adapt to the situation. I wanted to still lead by example, just in different ways.’

This has not only been the toughest season of her career. Bright admits the challenging times stretch back to the 2022/23 campaign.

The centre-back suffered an injury four months before last summer’s World Cup and pushed herself to the limit to be fit to lead England for their opener against Haiti. However, Bright wouldn’t change a thing, even with hindsight.

‘Definitely,’ replied Bright when asked if this has been the hardest years of her senior career. ‘I think the past couple of years, to be honest, there has been a bit of a snowball effect.

‘The injury I had before the World Cup and then pushing to make sure I was ready for that tournament. That was a big test and then I had the pressure of the outside, like was I going to be ready after being out for so long. I was dealing with all that noise, too.

‘I went to the World Cup and had the highest of highs of reaching the final, but then the lowest of lows of coming second.

‘You come back to some great news [being named captain] and again it’s the highest of the highs, but then my knee plays up and it felt like I was a little bit back to square one.

‘But, if I could do it all again – I wouldn’t change anything. Ultimately, I’ve paid the price of rushing to play at a tournament like the World Cup, but I think any player would do absolutely everything they could do [to play in a World Cup].

‘In an ideal world, I would have had a longer rehab for the first injury, but as it meant reaching a World Cup final, I wouldn’t have done it different.’

With Bright unable to take to the pitch wearing the armband, others stepped up in her absence. This, our captain says, is a team full of leaders and she has nothing but praise for the Blues who helped steer the ship.

‘No matter who has the armband, you need more than one leader in the team,’ said Bright.

‘It was Erin [Cuthbert] and Niamh [Charles] who stepped up and they put themselves in that position to lead the girls out because of their consistency and their output every single day.

‘Their attitude, their passion and – obviously – the quality of their performances meant they were the two that stepped up. I’m really proud of them for that.

‘We had so much change this year. There was so much going on. With the announcement of our manager of 12 years leaving and players leaving, we’ve had to deal with all of that and I’m so proud of those two individuals for carrying the team during those times.

'I think they have probably learned a lot having to lead the team out in the good games and the not so good games.

'They have experienced the pressure of the armband and that when you put it on it’s more than just a bit of material. It’s the pressure that comes with it, the press conferences, the team talks, and you’re the person that everyone looks to if something needs taken care of.

‘I’ve got so much high praise for them. They have been incredible, but the group as a whole have been together more than ever this year.’