Football Ferns captain Ali Riley thanks supporters in Dunedin during the World Cup. Photo: Photosport
Football Ferns captain Ali Riley says an ongoing nerve injury may bring an end to her professional career.
Riley hasn't played since an international friendly against Japan in May and has admitted during a public talk in Los Angeles that it could prove to be her last game.
The injury ruled the 36-year-old out of New Zealand's winless campaign at the Paris Olympics - where they were eliminated in the group stage - having originally been named in the squad.
And she hasn't played a game since April for the US National Women's Soccer League club she captains, Angel City.
Defender Riley is capped 162 times for the Football Ferns and featured at five World Cups, including last year's tournament co-hosted by New Zealand.
Ali Riley. Photo: Photosport
She suggested in a speech to young sportswomen that she had been considering her post-playing career.
"What I've learned from being a soccer player has made me who I am, but my identity goes so much beyond what I can do on a soccer field," she said.
"And so in those dark, dark moments when I was like, 'Can I get back?' I couldn't walk, I couldn't run, and then even now, when I don't know if I'll ever be able to play soccer again. That's the reality of the injury I have right now."
In July, she shed some light on the complexity of her injury on social media, after being ruled out of the Paris Games.
"For the past seven months I've been struggling with a nerve injury," she wrote.
Ali Riley runs with the ball during during the Australia Matildas vs New Zealand Football Ferns womens football international at Etihad stadium Melbourne Australia on the the 7th of June 2016 Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"It's been frustrating, confusing, and excruciatingly painful in a way that's hard to describe. The Ferns and ACFC medical and performance staff did everything possible to get me healthy for this Olympics (rehab, injections, strength, conditioning, treatment, medication, more injections) and I am so grateful to all of them.
"During this camp there have been bad days along with the good, and due to the unpredictable nature of this injury my coach decided that it would be best for the team to withdraw me completely from the squad."