Tough by name: Mother reveals how Lucy Bronze won Euros despite broken leg

Independent

2 days ago

Lucy Bronze's mother has revealed her daughter's sport sciences studies helped her to win the Euros despite playing with a broken leg.
And Diane Bronze spoke to BBC Woman's Hour to explain how the full-back ended up with the appropriate middle name of Tough.
Speaking from Switzerland, the proud mother talked about how many of Lucy's Lioness teammates and the wider family knew about her fractured tibia.
Ms Bronze said: 'We knew all the way through.
'Originally somebody said, 'Well, it can't be a fracture, because you wouldn't be able to stand up'.
'But she said, 'I've got high pain threshold, and I can deal with pain'.
'Obviously, we knew the medics checked it, and they knew what they were doing.
'She did a sports science degree. She reads research papers and she knows about injuries.
'That's how she can keep going. That's why she knew how to tape her own leg.'
Asked how she felt about her daughter playing with a fracture – which her mother said happened in June – Ms Bronze laughed: 'It doesn't matter how I feel, it's what she's going to do.'
She said Lucy's club Chelsea knew about playing through the fracture, adding: 'The amazing thing is that the medical team all knew about it, we knew about it, I think a lot of the girls knew, and not a whisper got out.'
Ms Bronze said her maiden name was Tough, and after marriage she followed the tradition of her husband's Portuguese heritage by keeping it – so her children are all Toughs.
She said: 'I'm Diane Tough Bronze.
'When you get married in Portugal, you just add your husband's name.
'You keep your own and add his, so all of my children are Tough Bronzes.'
Her mother was sure Lucy will carry on playing football once she has recovered from the tournament, saying: 'I think Sarina (Wiegman) had it right.
'She's going to have to get her off the pitch in a wheelchair.'