For Football Ferns fans, watching New Zealand's months-long winless run prior to the Women's World Cup has been tough.
For injured midfielder Ria Percival, it was even tougher.
"It's been one of the hardest parts of being injured," she tells AAP.
"Because I haven't been able to be involved and try and help out and make an impact in the times when we needed it the most."
Percival, 33, suffered the worst injury of her long career, a dreaded ACL rupture, in a friendly against the Matildas in April 2022.
"When it actually happened I heard it pop, it sounded like a bit of a gunshot. I knew then it was quite serious," she said.
From that point, the Football Ferns battled on the pitch, winning just twice in 16 matches.
However, they turned the tide last week against Vietnam, claiming a 2-0 win with Percival restored at the heart of midfield.
In a closed doors hit-out against Italy, Percival also completed 90 minutes: another milestone to show her fitness for the tournament ahead.
Insiders say they saw Percival at her all-action best, setting the pace and showing the qualities that have made her a Tottenham Hotspur mainstay in recent years.
Coach Jitka Klimkova clearly sees an inspiration in Percival's comeback from the knee injury, naming her co-captain with Ali Riley for the tournament, which is incredibly her fifth World Cup.
Her experience will be vital if the Kiwis are to achieve their goal of making it out of the group stage.
"That would make history," she said, given New Zealand are yet to win a World Cup match.
"But we have to kind of break that down and just focus on on each game as it comes and not look too far ahead."
First up is Norway, the former World Cup winners and world No.12, in the tournament's opening match in Auckland on Thursday.
The star-studded Scandinavians have players in Europe's best teams and leagues, while Percival is one of just a handful of Kiwis playing in a major club side.
She has vowed the Ferns - with the backing of a sold out Eden Park - won't be overawed.
"We're gonna come into this game confident. This is the bonus of having it on home soil. We're gonna have the fans behind us, that's like an extra player," she said.
