Georgia Stanway’s long road to recovery: ‘Low’ moments, mentor chats and tattooing

The relentless grind of rehabilitation following a serious knee injury can be a solitary and demoralising journey for any elite athlete. For Georgia Stanway, Bayern Munich’s tenacious midfielder, the first half of this year presented not only the physical challenge of mending a torn ligament but also the profound psychological battle against boredom, frustration, and the gnawing doubt that often accompanies long-term layoffs. Yet, Stanway found an unconventional, deeply personal outlet for her recovery, one that literally left its mark on her: self-tattooing.

It was a subtle, yet increasingly noticeable, transformation that caught the keen eye of Bayern Munich’s rehabilitation coach, Moritz Lemmle. A small ink etching on Stanway’s leg would appear one day, followed by another, then another, until it became a playful game of "spot the difference" for Lemmle. This peculiar coping mechanism was born out of Stanway’s need to channel her focus and endure pain on her own terms. She often recounted the sheer agony of the process to Lemmle, confessing how close she came to abandoning a piece due to the unbearable discomfort, yet her unwavering determination to avoid a mistake pushed her through. This chosen pain, a stark contrast to the involuntary agony of her injury, became a bizarre mirroring of her physical ordeal, a testament to her resilience and an unexpected form of therapy during her lowest moments.