In January 2020, Olympique Lyonnais striker Ada Hegerberg tore her anterior cruciate ligament in a training session.

Some players return from ACL injuries after nine months, while others are unable to play ever again.

Hegerberg’s experience has been somewhere in the middle – the Norwegian could return to the football pitch this evening, after 20 months out.

The 26-year-old underwent surgery three times during her lengthy period on the sidelines. She got back to training last month, and has now been included in the squad for Lyon’s Champions League group match against Swedish club BK Hacken.

If she does get time on the pitch this evening, it will mark the return of one of the greatest talents in women’s football.

Who is Ada Hegerberg?

Hegerberg made her debut in Toppserien, the top level of women’s football in Norway, in 2010. She played for Kolbotn alongside her older sister Andrine, before both moved to Stabæk in 2012.

In the following season, Ada Hegerberg was the league’s top scorer with 25 goals in 18 matches. Her performances attracted interest from Turbine Potsdam, and the German club signed the Hegerberg sisters in 2013.

Ada did not spend long in Germany. Lyon, the best side in Europe, soon came knocking on her door.

She moved to Lyon in the summer of 2014, scoring 26 goals in 22 matches in her first season at the club. Her attacking prowess helped Lyon to a ninth consecutive Division 1 Féminine title.

Hegerberg reached new heights in the 2015-16 campaign, hitting the back of the net 33 times in 21 appearances.

Lyon completed the treble that season, adding the Women’s Champions League to D1 Féminine and Coupe de France Féminine titles after Hegerberg scored 13 goals in nine matches.

In 2018, Hegerberg’s achievements were recognised as she became the first ever winner of the Ballon d'Or Féminin. She was also named BBC Women's Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 2019.

Just months before she ruptured her ACL, Hegerberg became Women's Champions League all-time top scorer, managing her 53rd goal in her 50th appearance.

One of the most powerful women in sport

Last October, Sports Illustrated named Hegerberg as one of the most powerful women in sport. She was selected due to her unrelenting battle to earn equal treatment for the Norwegian women’s national team.

Hegerberg decided to sacrifice her place in the squad in 2017, a protest against the way Norway’s female players were treated in comparison to their male counterparts.

A few months later, the Norwegian Football Federation announced the men and women’s national teams would be paid equally. But still Hegerberg refused to play, even giving up a chance to compete at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

She is unlikely to return to the national squad until there is a complete "culture change".

"Backed by other women like Alex Morgan and Rapinoe speaking up about equal pay, Hegerberg’s voice has been amplified," Sports Illustrated wrote of the star striker.

Hegerberg has also been critical of the increase in prize money for Euro 2022. UEFA doubled the prize pot from £6.9m to £13.7m, but this is dwarfed by the £317m available at Euro 2020, the men's tournament. 

"I am a player and from my perspective my job is to perform," she said. "But what is important in this subject is we are not in a position where we should be thankful about everything that is given to us.

"I know without performance nothing follows after, but that doesn’t mean you have to be thankful. Some things should be a bare minimum."

Hegerberg emphasised the need for young girls to believe in themselves after she won the first Ballon d'Or Féminin in 2018, a pointed comment after the ceremony was shrouded in controversy.

The host, DJ Martin Solveig, asked Hegerberg if she "knew how to twerk" after she received her award. The footballer looked uncomfortable and replied "no".

Although Solveig later apologised and Hegerberg said she "didn’t really consider it sexual harassment", the DJ was widely criticised for his comments.

"This is a great motivation to continue working hard and we will continue to work together to win more titles," Hegerberg said of her award after the ceremony. "I wanted to end with some words for young girls around the world: believe in yourselves."