Rylee Foster Bids Farewell to Her Childhood Club

Rylee Foster is a native of Canada, but her grandparents were raised in Liverpool. Because of this, the 24-year-old grew up as a massive Liverpool fan, and considered it a dream come true to wear the shirt.

“I’ve always been a massive Liverpool fan since the day I could really speak and know what Liverpool was,” she said.

“To be able to come here, walk into Anfield and see us play, to wear the shirt and play against Manchester United in a big match, to play against Everton and feel the emotion that I got to watch as a kid, it’s just an absolute honour.”

Her time at the club was bittersweet — heavy on the bitter. She arrived at the club in January 2020, but in October of 2021, she got into a car accident that, among other things, broke her neck in seven places. It’s been a long, hard struggle back to health, with the latest trial being an operation on her shoulder.

She hopes to eventually take to the pitch again, but for now, her time with Liverpool is over when her contract expires in the summer.

“The shoulder surgery kind of came out of the blue. My aspirations are to be back on the pitch and still do what I love to do,” she said.

“I’m very hopeful that whatever the next journey is, I’ll be back on the pitch at some point healthy and fit.”

Through it all, she credits the Liverpool fans with keeping her spirits up over the last 18 months of rehabilitation.

“When the accident happened the fans absolutely had my back and it’s just the messages I get every single day, the words of wisdom, their support from the side of the field,” Foster said.

“Everything like that has helped me get where I am today and it’s never been ignored. So, for me personally it’s just a big thank you to the Liverpool fanbase - the women and men’s sides because we are one team.”