Western Bulldogs injured forward Isabel Huntington says finding an outlet outside of football is key to getting through rehab.

The 23-year-old is unfortunately no stranger to long-term injuries, having suffered three ACLs, a broken leg and knee sprain since 2015.

Despite her preference to make football a full-time career, Huntington said having the ability to step away from the game is beneficial at times.

“The biggest thing for me has been finding my identity outside of football – in a way, as AFLW players we are forced to do that as we’re only part-time,” she told teammate Bonnie Toogood for westernbulldogs.com.au.

06:47

Fierce Women | Izzy Huntington

Bonnie Toogood chats with Izzy Huntington about the emotions of suffering her third ACL tear and the impact it has on her life as a part-time athlete.

“Ideally we wouldn’t be (part-time), but I think that’s important for any athlete.

“Whether you’re playing full-time or part-time, finding who you are and what you enjoy outside of footy is important because it can be taken away from you in a split second.”

After stringing together 13 consecutive games over the last two seasons, Huntington thought she was thankfully at the end of her injury misfortunes.

But after landing awkwardly from a marking contest in the opening round of this season, she quickly realised the battle wasn’t over just yet. 

“It was sort of a little bit of déjà vu – I felt like I had got to a point where I was past my knee issues which was nice, and I (wouldn’t) have to think about my knee again,” the former number one draft pick said.

“All of the training, the late nights, the sacrifices and everything – to get just a quarter in was pretty shattering. I just couldn’t believe I was in this spot again.

“I think the isolation is probably the most difficult part of an ACL rehab – particularly for us as we finish the season and then go into off-season, you’re sort of having to do all of these rehab sessions by yourself or with just one of the physios.

“It becomes more of a mental challenge, than a physical one at times. They often don’t match up either – you might be going really well physically at that stage of your rehab, but mentally you might be struggling a fair bit.

“I don’t know how any of the AFLW players do it – they’re incredible in the way that they balance everything.”