After standing arm-in-arm on the pitch with her Matildas teammates for the national anthem for the first time in more than three years, Chloe Logarzo wiped tears from her eyes.
The 29-year-old had not started a game for the Matildas since tearing her ACL in 2021, but was finally back in the Australian XI for the first friendly with Chinese Taipei at AAMI Park.
Logarzo’s cross led to the opening goal for Tash Prior in the 11th minute, but 15 minutes later the tears returned after a head clash with Chan Pi-han.
The heavy contest for the ball sent both players sprawling to the turf, with Logarzo clutching at the left side of her head.
After a few minutes in the hands of the trainers, Logarzo’s face sank and tightened as she spoke to the team doctor.
Logarzo tore her ACL against Ireland in September 2021. (Getty Images: Tim Clayton/Corbis)
“No. Please, please, please,” she said, begging to stay on the pitch.
But ultimately she had to be subbed off and stay off under the concussion protocols, watching the rest of the 3-1 victory from the sidelines.
As she trudged to the sideline, Logarzo dried her eyes with her jersey.
Her first Matildas cap since October 2022 was over after less than half an hour.
“It’s heartbreak for her,” Logarzo’s former national teammate, Elise Kellond-Knight, said in commentary for Paramount+.
“Zero body preservation there. It’s a heartbreaking moment.”
The Matildas looked distracted immediately after her departure and it cost them when Chan Jin-wen pounced on a mix-up between Clare Hunt and Charli Grant to score Chinese Taipei’s first goal against Australia since February 2007.
Logarzo was still feeling the emotional and physical pain after half-time as she hugged retiring veteran Clare Polinghorne and held an ice pack to her head on the bench.
She was seen smiling as she congratulated her teammates and signed autographs for fans after the victory.
