Five months ago, sport was a huge part of my life — I could run, sprint, ski, play football and compete without ever thinking about whether my knee would let me. Then, in one moment, everything changed.

Hi, I’m Maxwell, I’m 11 years old, and in March I completely tore my ACL during a ski competition with my school in Italy.

I went from being a sports scholar who spent almost every day doing the thing I love, to suddenly being unable to walk properly.

I was heartbroken.

In April, I underwent ACL reconstruction surgery. Since then, my biggest challenges haven’t been scoring goals or winning races. They have been learning to straighten my leg, take steps, walk without support, climb stairs, jump and trust the process.

Recovery from an ACL reconstruction is long. I knew it would be physically hard, but I wasn’t prepared for how difficult it would be emotionally too.

Sport is a massive part of who I am. I’m a sports scholar at school, I love competing and, more than anything, I love football. Since March, I’ve watched from the sidelines while my friends and teammates have carried on playing. I’ve missed football, tournaments overseas and opportunities I had worked really hard for.

Sometimes I just miss being me.

But I don’t want my injury to only be about everything I’ve lost.

I want to turn it into something positive.

ACL injuries in young athletes are a growing concern, yet when it happened to me, my family quickly realised how difficult it can be to find information, understand the options and know what the right path through surgery and rehabilitation looks like for a child.

We also learned more about the importance of injury prevention and the things that schools, coaches, teams and young athletes can do to help reduce the risk of serious knee injuries.

That’s why I’ve decided to use one of my PE lessons to set myself a challenge.

🚴 My 10K Challenge

I’m going to get on my bike and complete a 10K ride, starting at my school, Terra Nova, at the beginning of my PE lesson and returning to school before the lesson finishes.

For lots of people, 10K on a bike might not sound like a huge challenge.

For me, five months after ACL reconstruction, it is.

Every kilometre will represent how far I’ve already come and remind me that, even when progress feels slow, I’m still moving forward.

My goal is to raise £1,000 for Power Up to Play, a charity working to raise awareness of serious knee injuries in young people and promote ways of reducing injury risk through education and prevention.

I hope my journey can help another young athlete facing the same long road. I want them to know that even on the days when recovery feels endless, when you feel left behind and when you miss the person you were before your injury, you keep going.

And I hope my story encourages more schools, sports clubs, coaches and families to learn about ACL injury prevention, so we can do more to protect young athletes taking part in the sports they love.

I still have a long way to go before I’m back on a football pitch.

I can’t run yet or play football

But I can ride. So that’s where I’m starting.

Please get behind me and sponsor my 10K ACL Challenge. Whether it’s a donation, sharing my page or simply sending me some encouragement, it would mean so much.

My comeback isn’t being measured in days or months. It’s being measured by every little bit of progress I make.

And I’ll keep showing up until it’s my turn to play again. ❤️⚽

Maxwell, 11

🎯 My target: £1,000 for Power Up to Play