It was at the World Cup in 2023 that things came to a head. Lucy Bronze, England’s most capped player at the tournament, had been dealing with contact lens issues throughout her career. When her lenses dried up in Australia, enough was enough.
“I ordered some more but they were the wrong ones because they were a different brand. Obviously, we were in Australia, so it was hard to get the same things as in England and there was one game out there where my eyes were so itchy and watery.
“At the end of the tournament, I just thought, I really do not need this. But I was apprehensive about laser-eye surgery and the risks of something going wrong. This procedure is reversible, which gave me peace of mind and felt less risky for me.
“It sounds crazy but it has made such a big difference.”
During the winter break, Bronze had a Collamer (collagen co-polymer) lens by EVO implanted between her iris and natural crystalline lens. No corneal tissue was removed, it is biocompatible with the eye. She was in and out within an hour. “I walked out the building and I could see.”
It seems extraordinary that a career as spectacular as hers had been blighted by this issue but listen to her talk about her experiences – in the past tense now, thankfully – and it is remarkable that she endured it for so long. Even certain light was awkward.
“Reflections, things like that. There was an example years ago when I was playing for Liverpool away at Bristol that became a bit of a folk tale. After I had my surgery, Gemma Bonner, the captain at the time, was like, ‘No more contact lenses falling out in games’.
“I lost a lens in a header when a girl accidentally brushed my eye. I was up and down the touchline, taking throws, telling the physios, ‘The spare is in my wash bag, under the bench, in the front pocket’. They finally got it but I played with one eye for 10 minutes.”
Lucy Bronze was a key part of England’s Euro 2022 winning squad
It came to dominate her thoughts. “I would be more devastated if I forgot my contact lenses than my football boots,” says Bronze. “It was that important. I could make do with another pair of boots but when you cannot see properly it is much more stressful.”
Supporters might not have noticed the change. Bronze was an elite player before. But from her perspective, the transformation has been significant. “What a difference it makes on the pitch in terms of seeing things faster when you look around,” she says.
“It was kind of surreal, going through all these motions that I have done my whole life, just how much clearer things were. My vision is actually even better than what it was previously. It is a shame I did not do it sooner. I should have done it in my twenties.”
Chelsea’s Johanna Rytting Kaneryd celebrates with Lucy Bronze
Bronze’s reputation in those younger days was built on her physicality, those powerful runs from right-back becoming her trademark, the Ballon d’Or runner-up to Megan Rapinoe in 2019. “I relied on my physical attributes. It is still my strength,” she says.
“It is kind of a shift in football at the minute. Everyone used to think of physical attributes as the key to everything. But actually it is your brain, your vision, how you see the game quickly, see every angle, that is more important than physical output.
“There are players that can play longer. Thiago Silva is a good example. He is so smart, he has the pictures in his head. He might have lost a yard of pace but he can still read the game because he sees everything clearly, scanning, checking, organising.
Thiago Silva is cited by Lucy Bronze as an example of a player who stayed at the top
“I always appreciated that side of the game but never thought I could make it something I was really good at until towards the end of my career. I realised I needed to work on it because you are more likely to lose your physical attributes than your brain.”
The result is that Bronze’s game has evolved. It was a process that began at Manchester City. “They wanted me more to come inside as a holder midfielder and help with the build-up.” It improved those scanning skills. “In midfield, you have no choice,” she says.
“At full-back, you can kind of pick and choose. In midfield, you are involved. You have to be aware. The world’s best midfielders are not necessarily the fastest, biggest or even the best technically. They are the ones who can anticipate and see the game better.”
Lucy Bronze believes her game evolved during her time playing for Barcelona
At Barcelona, there was even more variety. “I sometimes played in the back three and then 20 minutes later I was playing like a right winger. I used to be more of a straight-line player, up and down, run and run. As I became older, I wanted to be less predictable.”
Now 33, Bronze talks of her ability to “read the game” and includes among her responsibilities “trying to get the best out of others” – all part of her evolution as a player. Is the aim of all this to prolong the career? “I mean, I think it already has.”
What is clear is that the hunger remains and Bronze is willing to do all that she can to stay at the top. “I am pushing myself to improve in as many ways as possible. Where I am at with my game, I think recovery is now the biggest thing,” she explains.
Lucy Bronze on safety for women in sport after Emma Raducanu was targeted
Bronze describes herself as “overly obsessed” with ice baths, installing them wherever she lives. “I was always quite obsessed with recovery and sports science. The last year or two, I have probably taken it even more seriously than ever before,” she adds.
“As I have got older, I just do not want any of these young players to overtake me. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo and how he has looked after his body to maintain his level. I know that I need to recover to make sure I am ready to go again the next day.
“Maybe I overtrained when I was younger. You could never stop me. That is the only reason I picked up injuries in the past. I ended up being out longer than I should have because I would not stop and would not listen to my body telling me to slow down.
“For me now, it is about not being afraid to take a step back. People think you are weak because of it. That is always the perception. If you are not doing enough or you are not playing all the time, you cannot handle it. But it is so that you can handle it for longer.
“When I picked up an injury recently, I managed to stop myself. Thankfully, the injury only turned out to be seven days, whereas if I had pushed myself, it could have been seven weeks. That is probably the biggest change and it all comes with experience.”
Whether it is recovery techniques, tactical adjustments or implantable lenses, Lucy Bronze is still seeking that edge.
