Kadeisha Buchanan smiles. We cast her mind back to February’s FA Cup win against Manchester United at Kingsmeadow, when she was brought off the bench at the start of extra-time. It is a recent memory, but one laced with narrative stretching back 15 months.

The Canadian international sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a WSL game against Liverpool in November 2024. It has been a long and testing road to recovery – to be expected with a problem of such significance – but that initial half-hour of competitive action signalled a major step forward in Buchanan’s return to the peak of her powers. Four more appearances have followed as the defender continues to find her groove.

'It feels good to be back,’ Buchanan says.

‘But it's funny, when I say back, I feel like my body is still trying to catch up to my mind. In my mind, I feel good, but my body is like, ‘Maybe you need to slow down a bit!’

‘I do feel really happy just to be available for the team, and I’m happy to be back out there with my team-mates. It's been a long time, and after that long period of being away, you're very grateful when you step back out on the field each and every day.

'Before that injury, I was doing pretty well, and it was a setback. But now, while I don't feel like I'm back to where I was before, I am getting back to it. And I think the coach has that belief in me to know where my potential is.'

That Buchanan’s return came at such a tense moment during a tight FA Cup tie only highlights the faith Sonia Bompastor has in her. Theirs is a relationship forged in Lyon, and now flourishing once more at Chelsea.

'I was a bit surprised to go on in that moment because a lot of players who are coming back from a long-term injury, you wouldn't necessarily see them go on in that moment for extra-time.

'Obviously, I'm ready for anything. If the game was 3-0 or something, I would have been expecting to go on a bit more, but since the game was so tight, I wasn't thinking I’d be going on, even though I was ready to play. But it just shows that the coach has confidence in me to be able to go on in such a moment like that and still perform.’

Chelsea won 2-1, with a goal from Buchanan’s central defensive partner Naomi Girma settling the contest. Our next game was against the same opposition, this time in the League Cup final in Bristol.

Buchanan started, didn’t put a foot wrong during her hour on the pitch, and by the end of the afternoon had yet another piece of silverware in her hands. You couldn’t help but feel like it was a reward for all the graft, all those hours in the gym and in the pool that the 30-year-old put in to ensure she returned to the fold in good health.

'I haven't really thought of it like that, but I think I should appreciate myself a bit more after being out for so long,’ she recognises.

‘I just thought of it in terms of being happy to start and get some minutes, and just enjoying the moment. And of course, we won our first silverware of the season, but I should really appreciate that moment as well for that.

‘Now my aim is to keep getting minutes and just be able to handle the load throughout the rest of the season. This is my first test, as we have seven games in just a bit over two weeks. That’s already a lot, but I'm very confident in myself, the staff, and everyone around who is supporting me.'

It's already clear how much confidence the staff and players have in Buchanan so, it is fair to say, the signs are good.